Vikings' Sam Bradford: Receives vote of confidence

Bradford "has earned the right to be the starting quarterback," according to coach Mike Zimmer, ESPN's Ben Goessling reports.

Analysis:

Bradford's trade to the Vikings prior to Week 1 caused waves across the league, and by winning his first four games at the helm, he couldn't have gotten off to a better start in Minnesota. Although the team's performance significantly fell off over the course of the campaign, Bradford was hardly the reason for that, as he not only set a new NFL record by completing 71.6 percent of his passes, but also threw for a career-high 3,877 yards. With 20 touchdowns versus just five interceptions to boot, Bradford filled the sudden void created by Teddy Bridgewater's devastating knee injury rather well, justifying Zimmer's vote of confidence in him ahead of next season, when Bridgewater may return to compete with him.