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Ever since the Denver Broncos bombed the Minnesota Vikings 33-6, sorrow and gloom has pervaded the Viking community. This is the situation when your team comes out flat against an opponent who drafted in the top 10 the year before – even if they haven’t played all of the starters and a handful of substitutes. The quarterback position seemed totally unstable and not at all ready for NFL-level play. Of course, Kirk Cousins didn’t play. Jake Browning and Kellen Mond did it. Neither seemed able to surpass even Sean Mannion’s level in backup.
Meanwhile, across the line of scrimmage, the Broncos appeared to have two quarterbacks better than anyone the Vikings could trot. Drew Lock looked precise and quick with his readings, while Teddy Bridgewater showed his jamming ability and read the pitch quickly on his own. Minnesota’s defense was dominated by both players, leaving fans unsatisfied with the guys under center in purple.
So, it is time. Jake Browning is not good enough. Kellen Mond is nowhere near being ready in case he needs to step in. There are better quarterbacks available to support Kirk Cousins, and if you can time it correctly, you can pick up an old friend in purple. This is not an argument for Bridgewater to start again Cousins; this ship has sailed (much to my regret). But with Cousins embracing his new uptime issue, the Vikings need to take the backup quarterback seriously.
Browning performed as well as he could at camp and received plenty of praise from coaches and teammates during his solo opportunity as the only quarterback free from strict NFL COVID contact protocols. Garrett Bradbury was enthusiastic, citing his work ethic and mastery of the group:
Mike Zimmer also got a lot of praise:
So you would be forgiven for being unpleasantly surprised by Browning’s poor performance on Saturday against Denver. Browning missed the shots, hardly ever challenged the Broncos in depth, and instead tried to focus on timing. Even then, Browning struggled to hit his players in stride, ending his day with an absolutely hideous pick-six.
After Browning scratched and made his way to complete five of 10 assists, it was Kellen Mond’s turn. Mond certainly looked better and even provided a new element to the offense. The Vikings have held some playable games with him, as well as a few staples in their quick play and a rollout or two. The playbook was extremely limited, possibly due to Mond’s delay in learning. In fact, Zimmer didn’t think it was realistic that Mond would even go for this game. But they put together a handful of concepts to try out live.
Mond has shown some jamming ability, but that’s about it. Many failed passes and the attack was out of sync as a whole. This led to grassy screens, missed throws and a totally dysfunctional offense. No quarterback would find the end zone. It’s very early for Mond, who should be at the start of a long development arc, but Browning needed to show us more. Browning will be entitled to a few more preseason games to land the job, but the Vikings should focus elsewhere.
It would be irresponsible to derive a full assessment from someone like Teddy Bridgewater when we have entire seasons to use instead. Teddy’s year in Carolina can tell us more about what he can do with backup work. The Vikings don’t need him as much as Denver, which opens up an opportunity. If Drew Lock wins this job, Teddy may exist in a space where the Broncos only see him as a backup. In this world, the price can be right for a team desperate for a second NFL quarterback in the room.
This world seems more likely than not to come to fruition. If you ask Denver, the competition is still going on. From Locked On Broncos host Cody Roark via DM:
Vic Fangio always says it’s Even Steven even though Drew Lock played bigger.
But it looks like Lock has outclassed Teddy so far. It’s not a big endorsement for Teddy as a starter. As a safeguard, however, we don’t have to worry so much about it.
A veteran substitute like Teddy Bridgewater could cost the Vikings a fifth-round pick or so. This is something the Vikings have been very willing to blow on non-squad kicker-punter hybrids, so the cost shouldn’t be too high. Roark said the Broncos might not be so willing to part ways with the save, however:
It doesn’t matter who loses, the other will remain the backup in case DEN has any inconsistency issues this season.
So let’s move that to a third or fourth round pick. Nick Foles went to the Chicago Bears for a fourth round pick. His contract was an albatross for the Jacksonville Jaguars, which would have lowered that value. But Jacksonville had more faith in Gardner Minshew than it appears in Denver in Drew Lock, which could negate the effect of the contract. Call it a fourth round.
To be worth the cost, Bridgewater has to be more reliable than Sean Mannion or Brett Rypien. He has to be someone who can give you a real chance in case Kirk Cousins misses a game or two in the COVID protocol. To understand that, let’s look to his season with the Carolina Panthers.
It wasn’t an inspired quarterback season, and he fell into his same old ways. Per PFF, Bridgewater threw the 27th biggest time throws and had the 30th highest rated games. He had the coins ranked fifth less negatively. Bridgewater is a notoriously conservative quarterback, but he’s pretty precise which protects the ball. This leads to a low interception total but comes at the expense of explosiveness. Only one main receiver, DJ Moore, averaged a target depth of over 10 meters. Even Robby Anderson, the field stretcher bearer that he is, on average had less target depth than Zach Ertz.
This has its advantages. Bridgewater’s accuracy was more than adequate in Carolina, even though the stakes on those shots were low.
For starters, this is a big deal. As a backup, this is exactly what you are looking for. Backup quarterbacks aren’t meant to play entire seasons. They’re supposed to, forgive the pun, fill in the gaps. Even without an injury or the possibility of COVID, Cousins could have an equipment problem, need to deal with a hard bag, or be unavailable for short periods of game. You don’t want to have to trot Jake Browning and hope he doesn’t throw another pick-six.
Teddy Bridgewater wouldn’t challenge Kirk Cousins for a starting position, even if you think he should. Cousins’ contract forbids it as a reasonable option – no NFL staff member would risk such a poor outlook. But if Cousins needs a spell, whether it’s for a practice, a game, or an entire month, the Vikings need to take the position more seriously than failing Jake Browning because he threw decent passes. during non-padded training sessions at the end of July.
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