including two starts.

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The Minnesota Vikings are working through a quarterback quandary this offseason Tremaine Edmunds Bills Jersey , with three pending free agents.

They have ample space under the salary cap, around $50 million, and an unfulfilled desire to produce a long-term answer at the position after years of questions.

Coach Mike Zimmer expressed caution about the strategy of spending their way out of the uncertainty.

"I think it's really, really important that we understand that we've won 40 games in the last four years and we've done this by being pretty good on defense for the most part," Zimmer said Thursday at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis. "This year the offense was much better. Part of the reason we've been winning games is because we've been staying in games on defense, we've been a smart team, all those things."

About half of the quarterbacks in the league are making an annual average of $20 million, and the standard prices will only increase this month with Kirk Cousins leading the list of soon-to-be free agents. Zimmer, for his part, pumped the brakes on the notion of trying to win such a bidding contest.

"I want to be really careful about taking away from our strength ... because of financial reasons," Zimmer said.

Staying in step with what general manager Rick Spielman said Wednesday Cheap Justin Jones Jersey , Zimmer told reporters the Vikings are still assessing the pros and cons of Case Keenum, Sam Bradford and Teddy Bridgewater with the market set to open on March 14. Zimmer said all three quarterbacks are "definitely" under consideration.

Breaking with the guarded style of his boss, Zimmer pushed the candor button at the podium. He acknowledged the realities and reservations of each of the three players he's had as the primary starter over the past three years.

"It's important for myself and Rick and the organization to pick the right guy that is going to help us continue to move forward," Zimmer said. "If we don't do that, then I'll probably be fired."

Keenum took over after Bradford hurt his knee following the season opener and enjoyed a career-best performance, helping the Vikings reach the NFC championship game. Before 2017, he'd just been a backup. Several times during the year, Zimmer hinted at mild skepticism about Keenum's ability to keep up such success.

"Is he the guy when he was at Houston or the Rams, or is he the guy who played for us?" Zimmer said, repeating a similar line of questioning for Bradford, who didn't experience much success early in his career with St. Louis.

Bradford's biggest issue is the knee Connor Williams Cowboys Jersey , which Zimmer described as a "degenerative" problem. There's clearly no perfect answer for the Vikings in this complicated situation.

"At the end of the day, it's a guess and a hunch," Zimmer said.

Bridgewater presents the least-expensive option but also the least-known, considering he last started a meaningful game more than two years ago. The amount of time he missed while rehabilitating his knee injury has made it difficult to evaluate his ability to lead the team for the next decade, as the Vikings originally intended when they drafted him in the first round in 2014.

"It's really hard to evaluate just in practice. We have to go back a lot with Teddy on what he's done in the past, him as a person, his work ethic, all those things. Him not playing for two years and not being able to see him play in live situations, that's concerning a little bit," Zimmer said. "But I love the guy. He's a great kid, great competitor http://www.cowboysauthorizedshops.com/authentic-connor-williams-jersey , a winner."

Manager Ron Gardenhire called it a punch in the gut. The staggering Detroit Tigers now have to find a way to recover quickly and end their six-game losing streak.

Nicholas Castellanos‘ three-run homer gave Detroit a 4-1 lead against the Oakland A’s on Monday, but the bullpen couldn’t hold it. Oakland finished off the rally with Jed Lowrie’s solo homer in the ninth inning against Tigers closer Shane Greene.

The teams match up again on Tuesday night.

The Tigers’ slide began during a two-game series in Cincinnati. They were outscored 26-3 while getting swept in a three-game series at Cleveland before Monday’s late collapse.

“We all knew this was going to be a work in progress,” Gardenhire said. “You’re going to go through some ups and downs.

“Believe me, these (ones) are getting kicked in the gut right here because we really worked at it today and we had a lot of good moments. We didn’t have too many in Cleveland. These are the ones the challenge you. These guys will learn from this and we’ll get better from it, I hope, but it doesn’t make us feel any better today. We’ll come back and regroup tomorrow.”

For the most part, the back end of Detroit’s bullpen has been reliable. Main setup man Joe Jimenez hadn’t given up a run in nine one-inning appearances this month before allowing three in the eighth. Greene hadn’t given up a run in 10 of his previous 11 outings.

“That hadn’t happened in a long time,” Gardenhire said, referring to Jimenez’s outing. “Probably early in the season was the last time he’s done anything like that and kind of had to fight it a little bit. Who knows? Maybe it’s because they haven’t been pitching enough lately. We went through a stretch where we didn’t use those guys four or five days and maybe that’s it, a little rusty.”

Oakland’s power display continued as Stephen Piscotty homered earlier in the game. The A’s have now homered in 26 straight road games, a major league record.

Frankie Montas Authentic Ed Dickson Jersey , who has been Oakland’s most effective starter for the past month, will oppose Blaine Hardy in the second game of the four-game series.

Montas (4-1, 2.41 ERA) has produced four quality starts in five outings since being recalled from Triple-A Nashville in late May. He has allowed just one run in 14 2/3 innings in two road starts, including his last appearance at San Diego on Wednesday.

The Padres only managed one run with five hits in 6 2/3 innings and Montas had six strikeouts.

He’s 1-2 with a 7.88 ERA in three career outings against Detroit, including two starts.

Hardy (3-1, 3.30 ERA) jumped into the Detroit rotation when Jordan Zimmermann and Francisco Liriano were on the disabled list. With both of those veterans back, Hardy is now part of temporary six-man rotation.

He made six consecutive starts and allowed two or fewer runs in five of them before a relief appearance in Cincinnati on Wednesday. He faced four batters against the Reds and recorded only one out.

Hardy has made 10 career relief appearances against the A’s, posting a 1-0 record and a 1.74 ERA.

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