With Minnesota eliminated from playoff contention, the hard part of the season starts for Vikings general manager Rick Spielman. He has to decide on which quarterback to take for the future. This is a momumental decision to make for Spielman and his team. In a way, it could be what shapes the NFC North for the next five years or so. If the Vikings guess right on their QB, it’s going to be a dogfight between Green Bay and Minnesota for years to come. If Minnesota guesses wrong, they’ll be looking at second fiddle to the Packers for most of this timeframe. It’s not going to be easy, and it really is an educated guess.

Case Keenum became the darling of the league down the stretch. He had a fantastic 2017 season throwing for 3,547 yards with 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Keenum looked like he belonged as a starting quarterback and commanded the offense. Adam Thielen had a breakout season thanks to Keenum, Kyle Rudolph went to another level and Stefon Diggs played well too. Keenum made everyone better out there. The question becomes – Is he a flash in the pan or will this be the new version of Keenum who will have a Kurt Warner-like second half of his career? That’s the 100 dollar question. If Keenum walks, he’ll be gobbled up instantly by Arizona, Cleveland, Washington, etc who are looking for QB help.

The other two are more interesting than Keenum because they both carry an implied risk – Sam Bradford and Teddy Bridgewater. Bradford led the league in completion percentage last year, but he continued to have injury problems which have been the story of his career. Bridgewater is the former stud of this organization who is battling back from a vicious knee injury. Bridgewater is the one I’d probably take over Bradford considering his age plus the chronic injuries for Bradford scare me. It’s not to say Bridgewater is safe. We have zero idea if he’ll be the same quarterback he was before the injury. That’s a huge unknown.

What Minnesota should do at QB is let Keenum walk to the highest suitor. He’s going to get paid, and Minnesota shouldn’t drop the Brinks Truck for him. They should look to Bridgewater whilst drafting a quarterback early on. If a Mason Rudolph were to fall in the first, that might be an option, or if they go with Luke Falk later on in the draft, that might be the way to go for Minnesota.

Charlie.