Four weeks after joining the Vikings, quarterback Josh Freeman hasn’t become the full-time starter. He also hasn’t become the full-time backup.
Per a league source, the plan as of Saturday was that Freeman will be inactive on Sunday.
Last week, Freeman had a concussion. This week, he is healthy.
Unless the plan changes, Matt Cassel will serve as the backup to starter Christian Ponder on Sunday in Dallas.
Whether it’s because Freeman has lost his fastball or hasn’t learned the offense or doesn’t really care, the first month of the $2 million Josh Freeman experiment should lead the Vikings to conclude that he’s not their potential franchise quarterback.
And if the other two guys already deemed to not be the team’s potential franchise quarterbacks continue to lead to team to far more losses than wins, the Vikings will be in position to try to draft their next potential franchise quarterback.
And if that doesn’t work, they’ll inevitably be in position again to draft another potential franchise quarterback soon.
That’s one of the benefits of the new rookie wage scale. By eliminating the gigantic windfall that previously went to top-10 picks, teams can keep swinging (flailing) for the fences at the top of the draft until they find the guy who’ll stabilize the position for the next decade or beyond.
UPDATE 10:38 a.m. ET: The plan hasn’t changed. Freeman will be inactive on Sunday, despite being healthy.