Raiders To Sign Christian Ponder

3:45pm: With the Ponder deal set to be finalized, the Raiders are expected to cut Schaub unless a team is willing to give up a draft pick for him, tweets Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle. Bill Williamson of ESPN.com adds (via Twitter) that he wouldn’t be surprised if McGloin is eventually cut as well.

3:24pm: The Raiders are expected to sign Ponder to a one-year deal, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter).

2:48pm: Former Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder became an unrestricted free agent for the first time this week, and his first visit will be to Oakland to meet with the Raiders, according to Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports (Twitter link). Bill Musgrave, who worked with Ponder in Minnesota for multiple seasons, was hired back in January as the Raiders’ new offensive coordinator

Ponder, who turned 27 last month, started 36 games during his four years with the Vikings, though he was essentially the team’s No. 3 signal-caller in 2014, behind Teddy Bridgewater and Matt Cassel on the depth chart. With a career 59.8% completion rate and 75.9 passer rating, Ponder likely isn’t being considered for any starting roles or even QB competitions this offseason, but he’s a former 12th overall pick and could still be a solid backup.

Derek Carr is set to enter the 2015 season as the Raiders’ starter, but the backup situation in Oakland is uncertain, particularly with a new coaching staff in place. Matt Schaub remains under contract, but the team could clear his entire $5.5MM cap hit from its books by cutting him. Matt McGloin is also under contract.

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