Vikings Release McLeod Bethel-Thompson To Make Room For Josh Freeman

As expected, the Minnesota Vikings released a quarterback to make room for Josh Freeman on the roster. . .and, dashing the hopes of at least a few, it was the only one that it made any actual sense to cut.

The team has just announced that, in order to put Freeman on the roster, they have released quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson. This means that the depth chart for this Sunday's game against the Carolina Panthers will feature either Matt Cassel or Christian Ponder in the starting role, the other one as the primary backup, and Freeman as the third-string option.

Releasing Ponder was, in all likelihood, never an option. . .not only would the Vikings have been on the hook for the remainder of his salary for this season, but they would also be on the hook for his $3.2 million in salary and bonus that he would have coming in 2014, the final year of his guaranteed rookie contract. That would have incurred a cap hit of that $3.2 million, plus whatever Ponder has coming in the remainder of his salary for this year. Given that the Vikings needed to do something to free up cap space rather than take more cap hits, it really wouldn't make any sense to release him at this point.

Guess this means that the haters, as they say, are going to have to just continue to hate.

So, McLeod John Balthazar Bethel-Thompson is officially no longer a Minnesota Viking. As he still has practice squad eligibility left, I would be surprised if the Vikings didn't put him there as soon as they're able. . .unless, of course, there are going to be teams lined up to get into the McLeod Bethel-Thompson business. In that case, we wish McLeod Bethel-Thompson the best in his future endeavors.