The Vikings did not pick up Josh Freeman to sit back and observe Christian Ponder or Matt Cassel play quarterback.
“At some point we’re going to get him on the field, for sure,’’ Vikings coach Leslie Frazier said Wednesday morning on a conference call. “That’s one reason we brought him in, to get him out there this season and that’s why he’s here.’’
For the Vikings, “at some point’’ is Monday night. Frazier after putting his team through practice on Wednesday – and giving Freeman the first-team reps – announced that Freeman will take the field as the starting quarterback for the first time for the Vikings Monday night when they face the winless Giants at MetLife Stadium. This move comes despite the fact that Freeman is newly arrived, having signed with the Vikings on Oct. 7 after getting released by the Buccaneers.
Freeman will get the rare distinction of starting two games as a visiting player at MetLife Stadium in the same season for two different teams. He was the quarterback for the Bucs in their season-opening loss to the Jets. The Giants faced Freeman in the second game of the 2012 season when they beat the Bucs 41-34. Freeman went 15 of 28 for 243 yards with two touchdown passes and two interceptions.
Before making the decision, Frazier admitted uncertainty at the quarterback position is not healthy for a team and certainly not advisable for the Vikings, who are 1-4.
“It has a major impact,’’ Frazier acknowledged. “You want to have your quarterback situation solidified and everything revolves on your team around that position. To go into a ball game with that position being in flux, it affects a lot of things. It’s not ideal, by any means.’’
Ponder began the season as the starter but suffered a fractured rib in the Sept. 22 loss to the Browns. Cassel has started two games, beating the Steelers 34-27 before losing last week to the Panthers 35-10.
Freeman started 59 games for the Bucs in four-plus seasons but the relationship soured, he was benched for rookie Mike Glennon and reports surfaced about missed team meetings. The Bucs tried to trade Freeman and released him on Oct. 3.
As for the upcoming game with the Giants, Frazier said “We anticipate a hungry team, looking for their first win of the season. We are hungry to get our second win of the season, two teams that are desperately fighting to get a win.’’
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Vikings DE Jared Allen is well aware the Giants are a turnover machine, with a league-leading 23 in six games, but warns his defense cannot expect the ball to simply come loose.
“If you go into the game and just think, ‘We’re going to force them to turn the ball over,’ you’re going to get drummed,’’ Allen said. “When teams turn the ball over … it can be one of those things that can be kind of like a domino effect, it keeps happening.’’
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Tom Coughlin on a conference call with media in Minnesota offered this update about RB David Wilson, who is out with a herniated disk in his neck: “It’s going to be a wait and see until such a point where after certain evaluations over time, maybe, we have to make a call,’’ Coughlin said. “David is in a position where we’re going to have to be very careful with this and the doctors are going to control this and all we can do is hope.’’ … Coughlin, asked if he’s considered benching Eli Manning, said “That hasn’t crossed my mind at all.’’ … In addition to signing RB Peyton Hillis, the Giants added RB Jeremy Wright to their practice squad. Wright was with the Giants in the spring and played in two preseason games for the Steelers.