Josh Freeman’s first game as the Minnesota Vikings’ starting quarterback did not go so well on the field, and the team announced Wednesday that he suffered a concussion that could keep him out of Sunday night’s game against the Green Bay Packers.
Vikings coach Leslie Frazier said via Twitter that Freeman’s status is up in the air. If he is unable to play, Christian Ponder likely would be back in the starting lineup for the home matchup against the Packers.
“We have to move forward as if (Freeman) is not playing on Sunday night,” Frazier said in a tweet from the team.
Freeman will be required to pass concussion protocol tests required by the NFL to be cleared for action. In the meantime, the Vikings are turning back to Ponder, who has not started since Week 3. Matt Cassel will be the backup.
“We’re going to need a good game out of our quarterback,” Frazier said. “We’re focused on Christian having the best game of his career on Sunday night.”
Frazier said he saw no signs of Freeman’s head injury during the loss to the New York Giants on Monday night in the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback’s first start after signing 12 days earlier with the Vikings. Freeman struggled against the Giants, completing 20-of-53 passes for 193 yards an interception.
Freeman thinks the the injury occurred during the third quarter but said he never told the team about any symptoms until Tuesday.