The Viking Age
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Minnesota Vikings mortgage the future for Sam Bradford

By Dan Zinski

Aug 11, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford (7) on the sideline against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Lincoln Financial Field. The Philadelphia Eagles won 17-9. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 11, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford (7) on the sideline against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Lincoln Financial Field. The Philadelphia Eagles won 17-9. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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Minnesota Vikings GM Rick Spielman said he wouldn’t mortgage the future to get a quarterback for 2016, then he turned around and mortgaged the future.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. After Teddy Bridgewater’s season-ending injury, Rick Spielman was feeling pretty desperate for a quarterback.

In the face of speculation about which functional-to-decrepit quarterback the Minnesota Vikings might pick up, Spielman insisted he wouldn’t trade away any of the future in order to win now.

Spielman said he had faith in Shaun Hill.

But did anyone in the locker room have faith in Shaun Hill? That was the more important question.

We’ll never know exactly what factored into the equation ultimately, but the end result was that Spielman traded away a 2017 first-round pick and a 2018 conditional fourth-rounder for Sam Bradford.

The Bradford trade will look like a gutsy move if the Vikings win the Super Bowl. If they don’t win the Super Bowl and now they have no first-rounder in 2017?

“Gutsy” won’t be the word people will use to describe Spielman’s decision.

You could call the trade a panic move if you want. And frankly who could blame Spielman for panicking?

Yes the Vikings believe in building with draft picks, but there comes a time when a team isn’t building anymore, and everyone from the front office down must shift into win-now mode.

The Vikings have a legit defense, a Hall of Fame running back, a promising receiver corps and a coach everyone believes in.

It’s win-now time for Minnesota. Hence the move to acquire Bradford.

Next: Jhurell Pressley impressed

Did Spielman go back on his statement about not mortgaging the future? Yeah, he did. But so what?

Spielman’s job isn’t to keep us fans up-to-date on every twist and turn in his thought-process. His job is to put a winning team on the field.

Will the Vikings win with Bradford? So far the former #1 overall pick has failed to prove he can be a championship QB. Rick Spielman hopes this is the year it clicks for Bradford.

We all hope this is the year it clicks for Bradford.

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