Christian Ponder is in and Donovan McNabb is out in Minnesota.
Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier has chosen Ponder as the team’s starting quarterback, Jason La Canfora of NFL Network reports.
The decision comes just six games into a season in which Frazier had insisted McNabb was his starter. But with the Vikings at 1-5 and McNabb not playing well, it was time for Minnesota to see what Ponder, this year’s first-round draft pick, could do.
The Vikings are now the third team in the last year and a half to give up on McNabb: The Eagles traded McNabb to the Redskins to make room for Kevin Kolb, the Redskins benched McNabb to make room for Rex Grossman, and now the Vikings are benching McNabb to make room for Ponder.
Given that the Eagles later jettisoned Kolb for Michael Vick, and the Redskins may bench Grossman for John Beck this week, Ponder might need to be a little worried that he’ll get benched for Joe Webb. Being McNabb’s successor hasn’t been easy the last couple years.
And being McNabb hasn’t been easy the last couple years either.