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UPDATE 3:41 PM: The terms of the contract according to Ben Goessling:
Hill's deal is for $6.5 million over the next two years, with $500,000 in annual incentives.
— Ben Goessling (@GoesslingESPN) March 10, 2015
So before incentives the Vikings picked up a draft pick, moved up a round for another, and saved about $1 million in salary for changing from Cassel to Hill.
Is your head spinning yet? Us too, and we're not even an hour into free agency.
The Vikings seemed to be making mostly internal moves so far today; they have finally announced their first free agent signing from another team in the 2015 NFL calendar year.
Minnesota has acquired Shaun Hill. The news was first reported by FOX's Ross Jones (we think...it's pretty tough to tell when your Twitter feed is firing like a slot machine):
Vikings sign QB Shaun Hill, per source.
— Ross Jones (@RossJonesFOX) March 10, 2015
Again, terms weren't immediately available but we'll update this post when they are. With Matt Cassel off to Buffalo and Christian Ponder likely (hopefully?) onto the next chapter of his NFL career, the Vikings needed a reliable option at backup quarterback behind second-year man Teddy Bridgewater. Perhaps the team has found just that.
Hill probably won't wow you with his play, but he has proven to be a guy that won't break things in a spot start. Hill appeared in nine games for the Rams last year including the first half of Week 1 against Minnesota. Are the Vikings in trouble if Hill plays that much next season? Probably; any one of this year's free agent quarterback class probably isn't starting material. But if Hill needs to come in for a handful of plays or a couple games? He can probably help keep the team's head above water while Bridgewater recovers. For a team that hasn't exactly had a string of Hall of Famers under center between the Favre and Bridgewater eras, Hill should be an affordable and relatively reliable option as the second string QB.
So what do you think? Was this a smart move by the Vikings or would you have liked to see someone else backing up Bridgewater? And can any of you actually keep up with all this madness? More to come...