Sam Bradford or Shaun Hill: Who will start for Vikings vs Titans?
By Adam Carlson
Will it be Shaun Hill or Sam Bradford starting at quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings for the regular season opener against the Tennessee Titans?
Less that one week ago, fans of the Minnesota Vikings were getting ready to watch Teddy Bridgewater be the quarterback during the 2016 season. A devastating knee injury has him sidelined for at least this season, but that doesn’t mean the season is lost.
The Vikings had veteran passer Shaun Hill on the roster, who is more than capable of holding down the position. However, the team made a big move to trade for former #1 overall draft pick Sam Bradford, which complicates things a bit while taking pressure off the situation.
Minnesota’s plan has to be for Bradford to take over as the starting quarterback. Franchises don’t typically give up a first and a conditional fourth round pick for a guy to be a backup. So the only question that remains involves when Bradford will take over the starting duties for Shaun Hill.
The easy answer to this question: when he’s ready. The complicated answer: fans and the media won’t know until it is actually happening.
Informing everyone of who the starting quarterback is before each game is an advantage for opposing defenses. They can game plan for hard counts, cadences, tendencies, strengths and weakness as well as many other aspects of the passing game. Leaving the Tennessee Titans wondering who will be throwing passes on Sunday gives the Minnesota Vikings a decisive advantage that they would be foolish to give up.
That doesn’t mean people won’t ask. In fact, “Which quarterback will start on Sunday?” will likely be the most frequently asked question by beat writers, reporters, and fans until the regular season opener actually starts.
Next: Vikings game-by-game 2016 season preview
In the meantime, expect more non-answers from Mike Zimmer. He will likely get frustrated by the sheer number of questions about whether Shaun Hill or Sam Bradford will start that we could see another instance of him going off on the media for continuing to ask questions that would put the team at a disadvantage. And those are always fun to watch from a fan’s point of view.