When Norv Turner became the offensive coordinator of the Vikings earlier this year, he joined a team with a quarterback under contract whom Norv wanted the Browns to get under contract last year.
As explained by Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Turner lobbied the Browns to sign Cassel last year, instead of Jason Campbell.
“I think that would have been at the time a good move for us,” Turner said. “I gave my evaluation. I thought he would have fit. . . . Sometimes it works out, and sometimes it doesn’t.”
At the time Turner arrived, Cassel had the ability to void the second year of the contract he signed in 2013 with the Vikings. And he did. But the Vikings apparently took Turner’s advice, bringing back the man who had a direct hand in each of the team’s five wins in 2013.
The question now becomes whether the Turner’s veteran of choice can fend off his rookie of choice, Teddy Bridgewater. With Turner proving consistently that he knows how to get the most out of most quarterbacks he coaches, the team’s ultimate choice could be ready to thrive.