Two years ago, the Vikings’ starting quarterback was starting his 20th NFL season. This year, the grizzled veteran of the depth chart is a converted receiver with two years under his belt.
By releasing Sage Rosenfels, the Vikings will go with Christian Ponder, Joe Webb, and McLeod Bethel-Thompson (whose nickname perhaps should be “the Publishing House,” since “the Law Firm” is taken . . . and also quite lame).
“We felt like [Bethel-Thompson] has tremendous upside,” coach Leslie Frazier said, via Sid Hartman of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “So we wanted to go with him and give him an opportunity to develop, and we’ll see how it works out.”
If the Vikings had tried to slip Bethel-Thompson (pictured) through to the practice squad, someone could have claimed him on waivers. That’s a lesson the Vikings learned the hard way five years ago, with Tyler Thigpen.
The decision to dump Rosenfels also shows that the Vikings have tremendous faith in Webb, who arrived as a wideout (after playing quarterback in college) and who in our view could be the best quarterback on the roster right now. He’ll be the starting quarterback if Ponder gets hurt.