Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

As many of you may have heard, the one-time phenom, and now unemployed Vince Young will be working out at the Texas Longhorns Pro-day on March 26th. Young last played in an NFL game in 2011 when he started 3 games for the “Dream Team” Philadelphia Eagles, replacing an injured Michael Vick.  The dream was more of a nightmare for Young, who posted a 60.8 QB rating and had 9 picks compared to only 4 touchdowns in those 3 games. He was signed on with the Bills last year during training camp but was released before the start of the season. When I first heard about his pro-day part 2, I just laughed it off. But then I got to thinking about it, and the more I did, the more I thought it would be great move for the Vikes. After all, he has proven that he has all the physical tools and talent that it takes to succeed in the NFL. He earned the 2006 offensive rookie of the year and two trips to the Pro Bowl in his short 6 year career. The main thing that has hindered Young is his own mindset and work ethic, but he has acknowledged that himself and maybe being at rock bottom will finally inspire this guy to take things a little more seriously if he is given one last chance to prove himself.  We all know the QB position is Ponders to start the season, but if he starts to slump and show signs of regression again this year, or if he gets injured, I think Young would be more than capable of taking control of this offense. Another thing to look at would be the risk/reward factor.  I’m sure Young would be easy to get for real cheap, possibly even a veterans minimum contract, so if things don’t work out it would be easy to move forward without him and not take any real losses. I think if he shines at his workout the Vikings should jump at this opportunity.

Where does Joe Webb stand with the Vikings?

No big expectations. They’ll get a vet w/Ponder. Orton on radar.

I sort of always assumed that the Vikings would pick up some kind of vet to back up Christian Ponder, just because it’s a good idea to have a veteran QB backing up a rookie. But Kyle Orton? Seems to me Orton is the kind of guy who would not just be a strict back-up. He would be thrown into the open competition promised by Leslie Frazier.

Given Orton’s experience and proficiency, there’s a very good chance that he would beat out Ponder and Joe Webb in camp. Speaking of Joe Webb: Mortensen’s tweet would seem to confirm my suspicion that the Vikings think very little of Webb, and do not realistically expect him to be in the mix.

But what about Orton as the starter? It all goes back to the same thing we’ve been discussing for weeks. Do the Vikings really have a shot to do anything in 2011, or should they commit to the rookie QB as part of an overall rebuilding process?

Obviously the lockout complicates matters. As people have been saying all along, the longer the work stoppage goes, the worse it is for a rookie QB like Ponder who needs all the practice he can get. If camp is cut short or even eliminated, forcing teams to go straight into preseason or even – gulp – the regular season, the Vikings would surely feel better with a QB who has a few years under his belt.

Orton would seem to be a safer bet than Donovan McNabb or Vince Young. He could probably be had for a 3rd round pick which isn’t at all unreasonable. If the team is indeed dead-set on getting a veteran, Orton would appear to be the best available option.

Follow FanSided on Facebook. Follow The Viking Age on Twitter.

The definitive word on Vince has come down from NFL.com’s Steve Wyche who says the Vikings “have not had internal discussions” about the soon-to-be-former Titans QB. So that should pretty much put down that rumor, right?

Something tells me that rumor isn’t going away. Nor is the Donovan McNabb rumor. Nor the Matt Hasselbeck rumor. Nor, for that matter, any Brett Favre rumors bored people might feel like whipping up.

Creating rumors is fun. And the best thing is, they don’t need much basis in fact. Adrian Peterson has been working out with Vince Young? That must mean Vince is coming to the Vikings!

I doubt Adrian Peterson has enough pull with Rick Spielman to get a guy signed who happens to be his workout buddy. Especially when that guy is a known head-case who also can’t stay healthy.

Any way you slice it, Vince Young would be a bad gamble. At this point McNabb would probably be a bad gamble too, but he wouldn’t be as bad a gamble as Young.

Perhaps it’s time to jump off the “Get a Veteran” bandwagon and join the “Throw Christian Ponder In There As a Rookie” parade. Who knows? Maybe Ponder is Matt Ryan 2.0.

Here’s where someone will want to rip me for forgetting about Joe Webb. I assure you, I haven’t forgotten about Joe Webb. I just think that when a team spends a #12 overall pick on a QB…well, that’s a message that they don’t think very highly of their other QBs.

So don’t slam me for short-changing Joe Webb. Slam Spielman and Frazier.

Follow FanSided on Facebook. Follow The Viking Age on Twitter.