Vikings GM on QB trade talks: 'People are asking for some crazy things'
MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman delivered a firm message Thursday night to the media and his counterparts around the league about how far he’s willing to go, or not, for quarterback help after Teddy Bridgewater’s season-ending injury.
“The one thing that I will not do, and I promise you this, is put our organization in a situation where it’s going to inhibit us or hurt us going into the future,” Spielman told reporters before the Vikings’ preseason finale against the Los Angeles Rams.
“By that, I mean people are asking for some crazy things. People think that you are desperate, and we are not going to do something that in my estimation, and talking with Coach Zim (Mike Zimmer) and our ownership, that puts us in a situation where we jeopardize the future of this franchise.”
Specifically, Spielman said: “We’re not giving up any of these young, talented players that we have, I can tell you that right now. Us, we work too hard as our coaches and our scouts, to build this thing and to go out and draft guys and develop guys to just give them away for a guy that may come in here and only be here for seven months.”
Two days after suffering a significant, gruesome, non-contact knee injury in practice, Bridgewater was out of the hospital and visited the Vikings’ facility Thursday, Spielman said. His representatives were in town and heard presentations on the doctors who could perform the surgery, with a decision expected in the next 24 hours. Spielman declined to speculate on a timeline for the long recovery to follow, but Bridgewater won’t be back this season.
The team has “utmost confidence” in 36-year-old backup Shaun Hill, Spielman said, emphasizing the Vikings have playmakers on both sides of the ball. But Spielman acknowledged scouts have been putting in long hours and he’s been working the phones, exploring trade possibilities that may not crystallize until Saturday’s deadline for cutting down rosters to 53.
“Someday in my book, you can read about the bizarre things that I’ve been asked to give,” Spielman said. “But we’ll just have to wait and see, and maybe those expectations change a little bit more.”
Asked whether he’ll call retired quarterback Peyton Manning, Spielman laughed and said no. He jokingly said they’ve called Brett Favre, but the former Viking’s hall of fame induction sealed his latest retirement.
Whoever the Vikings might acquire, he’s unlikely to start anytime soon, particularly if he doesn’t have experience in offensive coordinator Norv Turner’s system. In October 2013, the Vikings signed Josh Freeman and started him about two weeks later. He completed 20 of 53 passes in a brutal 23-7 loss to the New York Giants and never played for the Vikings again.
“I will tell you this. It’s hard enough finding a quarterback as you go through an offseason, as you get prepared for the draft, and if that position was easy, you’ve got six months sometimes to get ready to fill that position,” Spielman said.
“We’re in a situation that we’re trying to find potentially another quarterback in 48 hours, and then how many teams – and I’m trying to put a realistic picture on this – are going to give up a significant (piece)? They don’t fall out of a tree, and if you have one, you sure in the heck ain’t going to give one up, or if you have a young one that you thinks going to be the future, you’re not going to give that up either.”
Hill sat out Thursday’s preseason finale as a precaution. Undrafted rookie Joel Stave got the start, with third-year pro Brad Sorensen – re-signed after Bridgewater’s injury – backing up. Another quarterback the Vikings are high on, first-year pro Taylor Heinicke, remains on the active/non-football injury list with a foot injury suffered before camp.
Stave left the game after underthrowing a screen pass in the second quarter with what the team announced was a hand injury. He was seen throwing on the sideline a short time later, but Sorensen closed out the half.
Follow Tom Pelissero on Twitter @TomPelissero.
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