The Minnesota Vikings announced Wednesday that quarterback Josh Freeman suffered a concussion on Monday Night Football. This puts his status for the team's Week 8 matchup against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. The team also announced that if Freeman is unable to play due to his injuries, Christian Ponder will start in his place.
Josh Freeman has concussion, fantasy status in doubt; Christian Ponder is the backup
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Josh Freeman has a concussion, the team announced. We break down the fantasy implications.
Al Bello
Freeman was signed by the team during their Week 5 bye week, and was inactive for the Week 6 game against the Carolina Panthers. He made his Vikings debut on Monday against the New York Giants, and played poorly. Most figured that he would show improvement in the coming weeks as he got a better understanding of the playbook, however.
Ponder was benched in favor of Matt Cassel after playing poorly and an injury, and then Cassel was benched in favor of Freeman for poor play a well. Freeman's debut was probably the worst of all, but again, he only had little more than a week to absorb the playbook. Still, completing just 20 of 53 pass attempts for 190 yards and an interception -- all good for a completion percentage of 37.7 -- is about as bad as it gets.
Fantasy Impact: It’s totally unclear how severe the concussion happens to be. Freeman was named the starter for Week 8 on Tuesday, before the news of this concussion came to light. Fantasy owners may have been hoping that Freeman could turn things around in Minnesota, but there is little upside in potentially starting Ponder. Freeman served as a potential boom-or-bust player and nothing more, but that’s all looking in doubt thanks to the concussion.
• Week 8 fantasy football waiver wire: QB | RB | WR | TE | D/ST
