There are a few possibilities for the Vikings come the offseason when thinking of our new quarterback of the future. There are some obvious ones such as Derek Anderson, a rookie via the draft, or possibly some older veteran looking for a championship, such as a Donovan McNabb should he so choose. The best answer? Still coming.

The Vikings Best Option.

Now, say what you will about what I’m about suggest, but this is a firm belief I’ve had since about week three. The Vikings quarterback of the future is none other than the current leader of the NFL’s evil regime: the New England Patriots - Matt Cassel.

I know what everyone’s thinking and has said before: “Before Brady went down, the last game he started was in high school! And he didn’t even play well then!” That may be true, but the guy was in a bad position in college. He played behind two Heisman winners in Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart. I don’t care how good he is; when you’re playing behind guys like that, it’s tough to make your mark. They dominated college defenses, and Palmer (for awhile anyway) was dominating NFL defenses. Matt Cassel was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Bill Belichick, as much as I dislike him, knows how to scout talent and put together some good teams. He may not be a likable guy, but this season has shown, to me at least, that the man can coach football. I still don’t like him, but I do respect him a bit more. He picked Cassel as a backup, and instead has shown that he has a future NFL starter behind perennial Pro-Bowler Tom Brady. Lucky for the Vikings.

Let’s take a look at his starting stats this year:

(Courtesy ESPN.com, Player Profile: Matt Cassel

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?playerId=8644)

Look at his passer ratings; his lowest rating (68.1) came in week three when they played Miami. That was seen as a huge upset at the time, but look at how it’s turned out now. The Dolphins are now 5-4 and actually looking good. Matt Cassel had two starts under his belt. He was, and is, basically learning how to play football again after bypassing the entire college portion of his career. His average passer rating as of this point in the season is 89.2. That’s pretty dang good for someone who has played so little over so long. He’s adapting fast.

The Patriots are already asking him to win games. Look at their last game against the Jets; he threw 51 times with nary an interception. He had 400 yards. Three touchdowns. An average of 7.8 yards an attempt. Those are some amazing statistics, and he’s doing it with little to no running game.

Future Vikings QB

To me, it just seems like a perfect fit. A young, up and coming backup takes over for one of the leagues best QBs and shows everyone his stuff. The best part is that he’s fresh. He didn’t take a ton of sacks in college; he hardly played in college. He didn’t start a game while Brady was winning Super Bowls. The most amazing part, to me anyway, is how fast he adapted to starting in the NFL. If he can adapt to that, he should be able to pick up a new offense very quickly.

He’s just got too many upsides to not be the answer.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the future QB of the Minnesota Vikings-

Matt Cassel.