Frazier (Already) Declares Ponder as 2013 Starter

January 8, 2013

Leslie Frazier has already committed to Christian Ponder as the starter next season. (Photo Courtesy of reggietales.areavoices.com)

The Minnesota Vikings are prepared to discuss Leslie Frazier’s contract extension this offseason. With just one year left on his current deal, it should come as no surprise that the Vikings organization want to extend their time with Frazier, who took a dismal 3-13 last season to a 10-6 record and a playoff birth this season.

What may come as a surprise, however, is that the Leslie Frazier has already committed to Christian Ponder as the Vikings starter for 2013. While the Packers are preparing for a game against the 49ers in San Francisco this weekend, the Vikings seems to be already looking towards next year. There appears to be no licking of wounds after the Packers beat down from last week.

“He’s our starter. Yeah, he’s our starter,” Frazier said. “We’re excited about his progress. The way he played down the stretch, he was great. He had a lot to do with us winning those last four games the way we did. … We saw glimpses of what he can bring to our football team and the way he led us down the stretch, you feel like you have a chance to win every game when your quarterback plays the way he played. We’re excited about his development and looking forward to him getting better through this offseason.”

This may come as a disappointment or may even upset some Vikings fans, but we think it’s the right call. Bringing in a veteran backup is a must this offseason, but even though Ponder was incredibly shaky throughout the middle of the season, he’s shown enough progress to remain the starter. Still the timing seems odd for Frazier to already declare this. He clearly wants to give Ponder a confident offseason to work on things. In the meantime, one of the Vikings main focuses needs to be on bringing in solid WRs this offseason.