By Chris Tomasson
St. Paul Pioneer Press
MINNEAPOLIS - If the Vikings need any additional convincing about keeping rookie quarterback Taylor Heinicke on the 53-man roster, perhaps they should listen to Teddy Bridgewater.
It’s been well chronicled what sort of rookie season Bridgewater had in 2014. The quarterback was named Pepsi Rookie of the Year.
Now, Bridgewater says there is one area in which the undrafted Heinicke actually is ahead of where he was a year ago.
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“I think he’s ahead of the learning curve right now,’’ Bridgewater said. “I always tell him that a year ago, when I was a rookie, he’s much more ahead of the curve when I was a rookie.’’
Heinicke’s chances to make the opening day roster as the third-stringer behind Bridgewater and Shaun Hill improved when he completed 27 of 41 passes for 279 yards and two touchdowns in the preseason finale Thursday at Tennessee. They looked to have improved even more when the Vikings notified several players Friday that they would be cut and sources said Heinicke heard nothing.
NFL teams must get down to 53 by 3 p.m. Saturday. If the Vikings were to waive Heinicke in an attempt to get him on the practice squad, he could be picked up by another team.
Heinicke played in all five preseason games and showed steady improvement. The Vikings might have lost 24-17 Thursday, but Heinicke was often under heavy pressure behind a porous offensive line of all reserves.
“I could tell a huge difference from the (first preseason game) until now,’’ said Heinicke, who played at Old Dominion. “I just feel like I’m getting comfortable with the offense and I really know what to do, starting to play the playbook. Hopefully, I’m here for this season and get even more comfortable and be on the Vikings. I really want to be there.’’
Bridgewater seems to like having Heinicke around. Even though he’s just a second-year man, he’s serving as a bit of a mentor for the rookie.
“He’s a great guy,’’ Bridgewater said of Heinicke. “He works extremely hard.’’
Bridgewater got his first NFL preseason start in the finale last year at Tennessee. He completed 4 of 9 passes for 17 yards and a touchdown.
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Heinicke’s first start was Thursday, and he played the entire game. Minnesota coach Mike Zimmer wouldn’t speculate afterward about the chances of keeping Heinicke for the 53-man roster. But it would seem odd for Zimmer to heap so much praise on Heinicke if the Vikings were about to try to sneak him through waivers and onto the practice squad.
“He had good control of the offense and made some good throws and some good throws in the two-minute drill at the end,’’ Zimmer said. “There were a lot of things that happened throughout the course of the game that he showed he’s got something to him. … Pass protection was poor and he got hammered a few times. He got up and shook it off and went back to work. So that was impressive to me.’’
After Minnesota trailed 24-10, Heinicke threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs to cut the deficit to 24-17 with 3:54 remaining in the fourth quarter. Heinicke later drove the Vikings to the Tennessee 30 and faced fourth-and-1 with 41 seconds left.
The Vikings appeared to convert when Heinicke hit Diggs for 9 yards. But an offensive pass interference penalty on rookie Blake Renaud nullified the play, and Minnesota soon turned the ball over on downs.
In the preseason, Heinicke completed 57 of 82 passes for 69.5 percent for 516 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. However, he said he still has plenty of work to do, including throwing the deep ball better.
“I’m very hard on myself,’’ Heinicke said. “I always find the things that I need to work on and try to make those my strengths. There’s a lot of weaknesses in my game that I want to work on.’’
The Pioneer Press is a media partner of Forum News Service.
Raiders to cut Ponder
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The Oakland Raiders are expected to release quarterback Christian Ponder, a league source told ESPN’s Adam Caplan on Friday.
That news means Matt McGloin is expected to be the No. 2 quarterback behind Derek Carr.
- Sports Xchange
