History says the Vikings won’t have a quarterback competition in 2018

Some have suggested the Minnesota Vikings should have two quarterbacks compete for the team’s starting job this offseason.

No one really has any idea who will be the Minnesota Vikings’ starting quarterback in 2018. There are a few supposed “front-runners” that includes Case Keenum, Teddy Bridgewater, and Kirk Cousins, but it’s still possible that none of these three could be the Vikings’ starter next season either.

If there is one thing that can be predicted without setting the world on fire at the same time, it’s that whoever Minnesota picks to be their starting quarterback for 2018 will be selected before the team begins training camp.

Since Mike Zimmer became the Vikings’ head coach four years ago, there has only been one instance of the team having a quarterback battle during the offseason.

Three games into the 2014 preseason, Zimmer announced that Matt Cassel had won the opportunity to be Minnesota’s regular season starting signal caller. Cassel got the nod over rookie Teddy Bridgewater and Christian Ponder.

How much of a “battle” this actually was is up for debate as most assumed Cassel would be selected before the preseason even began. Despite the Vikings drafting Bridgewater in 2014 to be the future of their franchise, many believed his inexperience was just too much of a risk to declare him a starter as a rookie.

However, it didn’t take long for the young quarterback to get his opportunity as Minnesota’s opening day starter.

Before training camp even began in 2015, Bridgewater was the Vikings’ starting quarterback moving forward. Especially when Minnesota traded Cassel to the Buffalo Bills during the offseason.

Bridgewater was also scheduled to be the Vikings’ starter in 2016 until tragedy struck during the preseason and the quarterback was lost for the year to a severe knee injury.

Minnesota Vikings

Even heading into 2017, Sam Bradford was assumed to be Minnesota’s starting signal caller months before the team’s training camp began.

So in three of the four years that Zimmer has been the Vikings’ head coach, the team has known who their starting quarterback would be well before the start of the preseason. Why would 2018 be any different?

Since Zimmer landed in Minnesota, the team has really done their best to avoid any sort of offseason competition to decide who would be the their starting signal caller. Instead, the Vikings have opted to select a starter prior to training camp and give their quarterback the necessary amount of reps with the first-team offense to prepare for the regular season.

Some, like Sports Illustrated’s Peter King, believe that Minnesota will have Keenum and Bridgewater battle it out this summer to decide who the team’s starter will be for 2018.

Next: Kirk Cousins could be what the Vikings need

But based on what the Vikings have done with the position since Zimmer has been the head coach, the team will likely know who their starting quarterback is well before they begin training camp in 2018.