Vikings’ Mike Zimmer says Matt Cassel will begin training camp as no. 1 QB

One of the more watched quarterback battles to watch take place throughout the course of training camps over the next month will be with the Minnesota Vikings, presumably between veteran Matt Cassel and rookie Teddy Bridgewater, with Christian Ponder being the odd man out.

Well on Thursday, the race to start at quarterback was given a front runner, so to speak, as first-year head coach Mike Zimmer named Cassel his starting quarterback heading into the workouts ahead.

This move is not shocking by any means, given the leg up in experience that Cassel has on everyone, even Ponder.

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Last season, his first with the Vikings, Cassel saw action in nine games, completing 60.2 percent of his passes for 1,807 yards and 11 touchdowns. Although, he did also throw nine interceptions in the process.

He’ll need to improve rather quickly during camp, though, if he wants to keep the job because there are a lot of people that want to see Bridgewater play, especially some of the Minnesota brass that traded into the end of the first round of the NFL Draft to grab him.

And again, the chances of Ponder being back under center as the starting quarterback of the Vikings are slim, but this race could take a turn at any moment, so who knows?