The speculation can end now. Josh Freeman will start at quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night against the New York Giants.
Announced by the team Wednesday, the decision caps a frenzied couple of weeks for Freeman. He went from being benched and released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the starting quarterback in Minnesota only nine days after the Vikings signed him.
"We're going to see how the week goes, but our anticipation is he'll perform well," coach Leslie Frazier said.
Freeman replaces Matt Cassel, who started the previous two games for Minnesota. Cassel now will be the team's No. 3 quarterback. Frazier announced that Christian Ponder will be Freeman's backup.
Ponder was asked if he would welcome a trade out of town.
"I don't know," Ponder responded, via Chip Scoggins of The Star Tribune.
That's a different response than one week ago, when Ponder said a trade would be "difficult to deal with." No matter what happens from here, the entire situation is a reminder of how fast things can change in the NFL.
The Vikings started the season swearing that Ponder was their franchise quarterback. The Buccaneers started the season hoping Freeman would lead them to the playoffs. After just three starts apiece this season (and no wins), everything has changed.
Barring injury to Freeman, we wouldn't expect to see Ponder in the starting lineup for Minnesota again.
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