Minnesota Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder will miss Sunday's game in London due to a rib injury he suffered in last week's loss to the Browns. Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier confirmed on Friday that the injury is a fracture. According to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk, the injury may now jeopardize Ponder's availability moving forward in the weeks to come:
Backup Matt Cassel will be making the start in place of the injured Ponder. This will mark his first start with Minnesota, since coming over from a lackluster stint as a start for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Though the Vikings' bye week comes at a perfect time for Ponder in Week 5, a fractured rib is the type of injury that is known to linger. This would explain the reason for the uncertainty regarding a timetable for Ponder to be able to return to practice and eventually the field. With the poor numbers Ponder has been posting, it's not unreasonable to think the starting job could be in question, if Cassel were to outperform Ponder in his absence.
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Per a league source, the injury leaves Ponder as a week-to-week proposition. The Vikings are off next week, which means that he'll have two weeks to heal.
Backup Matt Cassel will be making the start in place of the injured Ponder. This will mark his first start with Minnesota, since coming over from a lackluster stint as a start for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Though the Vikings' bye week comes at a perfect time for Ponder in Week 5, a fractured rib is the type of injury that is known to linger. This would explain the reason for the uncertainty regarding a timetable for Ponder to be able to return to practice and eventually the field. With the poor numbers Ponder has been posting, it's not unreasonable to think the starting job could be in question, if Cassel were to outperform Ponder in his absence.
Follow @TheNFLInjuryRpt
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