Christian

Ponder

Matt Moore, Ponder, and Tarvaris Jackson are the “top” free agent quarterbacks left on the market. Matt Schaub would figure to be jettisoned were Ponder signed, leaving Ponder and Matt McGloin to battle to be Derek Carr’s backup. Per ESPN’s Adam Caplan, the Raiders are likely to sign Ponder shortly.

Signed to a one-year, $2.25 million deal in the offseason, Ponder’s history with new Raiders OC Bill Musgrave couldn’t save him from the chopping block. He was soundly outplayed by Matt McGloin in the preseason. The 12th overall pick in the 2011 draft, 27-year-old Ponder’s tendency to play scared and drop his eyes under duress has him on the verge of falling out of the NFL.

Ponder has ties to Raiders OC Bill Musgrave and is the favorite to back up Derek Carr, where he’ll likely be competing with Matt McGloin. His signing makes Matt Schaub expendable. The Raiders can save $5.5 million by cutting Schaub.

"(Donovan) McNabb is my guy,” Frazier said. It doesn’t help Christian Ponder’s chances that he struggled for most of the preseason. McNabb has been a nightmare behind an offensive line that can’t pass protect, completing just 55.6 percent of his passes with a 5.93 yards-per-attempt average through two games. He’s got a date with the ferocious Lions front seven next on the docket.

A scattershot McNabb averaged just 171 yards per game at just 6.6 yards per attempt in a 1-5 start. With any chance at the playoffs dashed, the only sensible move was to play the first-round pick. Though Ponder was shaky in preseason action, he showed positive signs in relief of McNabb Sunday night. There’s enough talent on this offense to give Ponder a shot at QB2 value in a best-case scenario. His eight rushes for 61 yards in one half of the preseason finale suggest Ponder will add value on the ground. McNabb was bad enough that the move can be viewed as good news for the entire offense.

Christian Ponder will have a long leash as the new starter. “You don’t want to be (in) Week 8 or 9 and flip-flopping quarterbacks,” Frazier said. Donovan McNabb’s future is very murky unless he embraces a clipboard-holding role. McNabb hasn’t yet come to grips with the reality that he isn’t any good anymore.

He’s an upgrade on Donovan McNabb. The Vikes used Ponder on designed roll-outs, and he hit a wide open Michael Jenkins for a 71-yard pass play on the first snap of the game. Two plays later, he found Visanthe Shiancoe in the end zone off another play-action pass. Although Ponder completed more passes to Charles Woodson than his own receivers in the third quarter, he bounced back with gutsy downfield throws into tight windows in a failed fourth-quarter comeback bid. Ponder will be a hit-or-miss QB2 option going forward.

Ponder will be 100 percent for OTAs. Labeled a major injury risk coming out of college, Ponder’s health will remain a question mark as he looks to unequivocally establish himself as the Vikings’ quarterback of the future.

He should feel a lot more comfortable with Matt Kalil on his blind side. “It is huge,” Ponder confirmed. "... A lot of times I wasn’t comfortable getting to my third, fourth reads, checking the ball down. Instead of just checking it down when a guy is wide open, I’d just run.” The running led to late-season injuries. Ponder isn’t going to enter the season as more than a low-end QB2, but we like the Kalil addition for his long-term outlook.

This confirms two things: Ponder was benched for performance -- not injury -- in Week 14 and Joe Webb’s impressive rally won’t lead to another start for the scrambler. Although Ponder was ridiculously careless with the ball today en route to four turnovers, he’s the franchise quarterback of the future. The rookie will have a long leash going forward.