The Facts: Following up on the ongoing story. ... Cassel spoke with the local media on Friday and made it clear that he's quite clear on his role with this year's team. He's Christian Ponder's backup. Period. End of discussion. "They said they're looking to bring somebody in with experience who could come in and basically be somebody who can step in if need be," said Cassel. "The fact of the matter is, again, Christian is the starting quarterback."

Diehards Line: Cassel is an eight-year veteran with 62 NFL starts. He's been a starter the past five years, including the past four with Kansas City, although he was benched after a 1-8 start last season. Despite coming in as a clear-cut backup, Cassel said he was sold quickly on Minnesota after the Chiefs released him on Thursday. "I'm excited first and foremost to be a Viking," he said. "I was able to come up here and spend time with [GM] Rick Spielman, coach [Leslie] Frazier, and coach [Bill] Musgrave today. We sat down and were able to go through some different stuff, and it felt like it was a perfect fit for me. ..." Based on Joe Webb's horrible showing when Ponder was a late scratch in the team's Wild Card playoff loss to the Packers, shoring up the No. 2 spot was understandably important to the Vikings.