Gentlemen. . .START. . .YOUR. . .RUMORS!!
This one comes from CNN-SI's Don Banks.
. . .
Rosenfels, who turns 30 next week, started Houston's final four games, winning three of them. He finished his seventh NFL season with 15 touchdown passes, 12 interceptions, a 64.2 completion percentage, 1,684 yards and a solid 84.8 passer rating. Those statistics outdistanced Schaub's efforts as a first-year starter in Houston. Schaub went 4-7 in the 11 games he started, with nine touchdowns, nine interceptions and 2,241 yards passing.
Minnesota is seeking to bring in veteran competition for third-year quarterback Tarvaris Jackson, who went 8-4 as a starter in 2007, but threw just nine touchdowns, with 12 interceptions and had a mediocre 70.8 passer rating. The Vikings on Wednesday released 11-year veteran Kelly Holcomb, who started three games last season, going 0-3. Brooks Bollinger (one start in 2007) also remains on the Vikings quarterback depth chart.
Minnesota finished 8-8, losing all four games that Jackson did not start. That turned out to be the difference between Minnesota making or missing the playoffs in head coach Brad Childress' second season with the Vikings.
Okay. . .I know we have the extra third-rounder and everything (thanks, Denver). But do we really want to send it to Houston for a 30-year old journeyman quarterback that may or may not be significantly better than our current starter?
In theory, both Rosenfels and Tarvaris Jackson should have benefitted from the personnel on offense that they were surrounded by last year, but in slightly different ways. Jackson had a fine offensive line and the best 1-2 running back combination in the National Football League. Rosenfels had one of the NFL's best wide receivers in Andre Johnson, and a good pass-catching tight end in Owen Daniels. . .two things that were severely lacking in Minnesota. Would Rosenfels be a huge upgrade on the QB depth chart from either Kelly Holcomb or Brooks Bollinger? Are you kidding? The list of NFL QBs that would not be upgrades from Holcomb or Bollinger could probably be written on a postage stamp. But if you're giving up a third-round draft choice for a guy, you're probably not bringing him in for "depth." You're bringing him in to contribute and, in the case of a quarterback, at least make a run at the starting job.
What say you, fans of the Beloved Purple? Is Sage Rosenfels worth a third-round draft choice to you?