Tyler Thigpen May Get Chance to Start in Kansas City

The Vikings drafted Tyler Thigpen out of Coastal Carolina in the 7th round in 2007. Everyone liked what they saw of him in camp, but the Vikes had the three QBs they wanted to go into the season with, so the brain-trust decided to try to sneak Thigpen onto the practice squad.

Unfortunately the ploy didn’t work – the Kansas City Chiefs snapped Thigpen up on waivers. This didn’t seem like that big a deal, since everyone thought then that Brodie Croyle was the QB of the future in KC. A year later, however, people aren’t so high on Croyle, and now comes word that Thigpen is considered a serious contender for a starting spot in KC in 2008.

Adam Schefter writes on NFL.com:

"The 6-foot-1, 224-pound Thigpen impressed the Chiefs throughout last year, but especially in Week 13 when he drove the Chiefs down field on one drive against San Diego before throwing an interception in the endzone.With a good arm and a strong presence, Thigpen has impressed them enough to make them think he could unseat Brodie Croyle as the starter in Kansas City."

First of all, what does it say about Croyle that he could get usurped by a project QB in his second year? And second of all…how dopey are the purple going to look if Thigpen turns into a legit NFL quarterback after they let him go?

Of course, you can argue that the Vikings really had no choice but to try to slip Thigpen onto the practice squad. He wasn’t ready at the start of last year, and as things turned out, the Vikings needed both Kelly Holcomb and Brooks Bollinger, since Tarvaris Jackson and Holcomb ended up both getting injured early in the season.

Still, history will judge the Vikings harshly if it turns out they gave away a good young, strong-armed QB for nothing.

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