
The Vikings' newly-assembled brain trust on offense hits the ground running. Coordinator John DeFilippo and senior assistant Todd Downing, hired 10 days apart this month, will help craft their new team's approach to finding a starting quarterback.
One device is at the Vikings' disposal as of Tuesday: the franchise/transition tag.
Starting Tuesday, NFL teams have a two-week window to prevent one of their pending free agents from hitting the open market with a one-year contract. The Vikings' front office has recently been proactive in re-signing coveted players the summer before they reach this point. But they're now in uncharted waters with perhaps the most unique quarterback situation in the NFL.
All three experienced quarterbacks are set to become free agents with two caveats: 1) Teddy Bridgewater's contract may 'toll,' or roll into 2018, depending on whether Bridgewater and the NFLPA can prove he was medically able to play before Week 6. 2) An extension can be reached at anytime, or the tag can be used to keep a quarterback like the healthy Case Keenum.
The deadline to apply a franchise or transition tag is 3 p.m. on March 6.
The Vikings have never used the tag, which began in 1993, on a quarterback. Only twice has the organization slapped a one-year tender on a player, and not since Chad Greenway in 2011. Tight end Jim Kleinsasser was tagged in 2003.
Earlier this month, general manager Rick Spielman said "nothing has been decided" when asked if the tag was an option for any of his quarterbacks.
Keenum is the most likely candidate between he, Sam Bradford and Bridgewater, but at a hefty cost.