Minnesota Vikings officially sign Josh Freeman; Release McLeod Bethel-Thompson
By Jason Marcum
The Minnesota Vikings officially signed quarterback Josh Freeman to the 53-man roster today and waived quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson to clear space for the transaction.
"“From standpoint of a career move, thing I like about the Vikings is, they’ve got a guy. It’s an opportunity to pump the brakes,” Freeman said on a conference call. “It’s been a crazy couple of weeks.”"
The Vikings have already said that Freeman is unlikely to play this week while either Matt Cassel or Christian Ponder will be starting against the Panthers this weekend while Freeman familiarizes himself with the offense. The Vikings reportedly plan to use the rest of this season to find out which QBs are going to be part of their future, and Freeman is guaranteed nothing more than a chance to compete for snaps.
Head coach Leslie Frazier has backed Ponder throughout the bad start and the injury – but he knows that if “his” guy stays on his current negative trajectory if and when he gets healthy, he’ll eventually be run out of town with him.
Freeman gives him the best chance to win now and stay in Minnesota for the long-haul.