Vikings Free Agency 2012: Getting Christian Ponder More Weapons

The Minnesota Vikings surprised many by selecting Christian Ponder in the first round of the 2011 NFL draft, but the team seems dead set on Ponder as their quarterback of the future. The Vikings only won three games in 2011 and things could be scary in 2012 as the team's biggest weapon, running back Adrian Peterson, is recovering from knee surgery and there aren't many good receiving options for Ponder to consider other than Percy Harvin.

When it comes to players that are likely to leave, long-time Vikings tight end Visanthe Shiancoe and linebacker E.J. Henderson are likely packing their bags. The Vikings don't have a ton of money to spend so they will probably let these players walk instead of overpay to re-sign them. As far as bringing players in, the Vikings have plenty of needs on both sides of the ball so it will be interesting to see what they decide to do.

The Vikings need to give Ponder the weapons necessary for him to succeed. The only consistently good wide receiver is Percy Harvin and that's when he's not struggling with migraine issues. Tight end Kyle Rudolph will likely get the starting job this season but Ponder still needs wide receivers. Guys like Mario Manningham, Pierre Garcon or Vincent Jackson could be options. The team also needs help in the secondary, which means guys like Brandon Carr could targeted at cornerback or Reggie Nelson could be targeted at safety.