The Vikings have officially decided not to exercise the fifth-year option on quarterback Christian Ponder, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN (via Twitter). Ponder, the 12th overall selection in the infamous 2011 draft class, failed to meet expectations as a Viking. He led the team to the playoffs once, although led is a strong word to describe the quarterback of a team that featured one of the most dominant offensive performances in recent memory in Adrian Peterson‘s MVP 2012 campaign.
The team was not expected to exercise this option. The fifth year would have cost the Vikings $9.686MM, according to our Fifth-Year Option Tracker. That price was far too high for a player who was not even the favorite to beat Matt Cassel out for the starting job this upcoming season.