1. Christian Andrew Ponder was born on February 25,1988 and is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League.
56 Facts About Christian Ponder
1. 2.
Christian Ponder played college football for the Florida State Seminoles, and was selected by the Minnesota Vikings with the 12th overall pick in the 2011 NFL draft.
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Christian Ponder played for the Vikings, Denver Broncos and San Francisco 49ers.
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Christian Ponder then spent time in a backup role for the Oakland Raiders, Denver Broncos and San Francisco 49ers, but never took another NFL snap before retiring in 2016.
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Since December 2012, Ponder has been married to former ESPN personality Samantha Ponder.
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Christian Ponder attended Colleyville Heritage High School, where he played football.
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Christian Ponder received scholarship offers from Baylor, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Iowa State, North Carolina, and Texas Christian.
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In 2006, Christian Ponder sat out his true freshman season at Florida State on redshirt status.
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Christian Ponder saw action against Virginia Tech when Weatherford was taken out of the game due to an injury in the second quarter.
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Christian Ponder made 119 rushing attempts for 423 yards and four touchdowns.
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At season's end, Christian Ponder was named the team's most valuable offensive player.
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In 2009, Christian Ponder was well on his way to a career season when he suffered a season ending shoulder injury at Clemson.
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Christian Ponder threw for over 2,700 yards and 14 touchdowns and considered jumping to the NFL a year early.
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However, after hitting Clemson safety DeAndre McDaniel on an interception return, Christian Ponder separated his shoulder and missed the rest of the season.
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Christian Ponder resumed his role as the starting quarterback in 2010.
16.
Christian Ponder re-injured the elbow numerous times during the season, and had to have it drained three times.
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Christian Ponder was the first Seminole quarterback since Chris Weinke in 1999 to lead his team to victories over both its in-state rivals, Miami and Florida.
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Christian Ponder won the 2010 James Tatum award, given to the nation's top student-athlete, and a National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete Award, as well as the Bobby Bowden Award, presented to the top student athlete among FBS schools.
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Christian Ponder graduated from Florida State in two and a half years, with a degree in finance and a 3.73 GPA, then an MBA, and is studying for his second graduate degree, in sports management.
20.
At the 2011 Under Armour Senior Bowl, Christian Ponder won MVP honors after throwing for 2 touchdowns and leading the South to a win over the heavily favored North.
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Christian Ponder was selected 12th overall by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of the 2011 NFL draft.
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Christian Ponder was the fourth quarterback selected in the draft, behind Cam Newton, Jake Locker, and Blaine Gabbert.
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Christian Ponder did not have a typical rookie offseason following the draft due to the 2011 NFL lockout.
24.
Three days after the McNabb trade, Christian Ponder agreed to terms with the Vikings on a rookie contract that included $10 million guaranteed.
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Christian Ponder was able to get his first win as an NFL starting quarterback the following week against his fellow 2011 draft mate Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers on October 30,2011.
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Christian Ponder finished out the next seven games with ups and downs.
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Christian Ponder threw two touchdowns with three interceptions against the Oakland Raiders in a losing effort.
28.
Christian Ponder threw three touchdowns and set a Vikings rookie record with 381 yards passing.
29.
The next week, Christian Ponder was injured in a game against Vikings' rival Detroit Lions at Ford Field, in which backup quarterback Joe Webb nearly brought Minnesota to a victory after Christian Ponder threw two interceptions earlier in the game.
30.
Joyner cited the Vikings' lack of talent around him as the reason why Christian Ponder didn't reach his full potential in 2011.
31.
Christian Ponder had arguably the best game of his career to that point, completing 21 of 35 passes for 198 yards, two touchdowns, and rushing for another touchdown on a 23-yard run.
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Christian Ponder has done a fantastic job protecting the football, and has yet to throw an interception this season.
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Christian Ponder struggled over the next five games and the Vikings lost four of five.
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Christian Ponder led the Vikings offense to 23 points, including a touchdown throw to Kyle Rudolph.
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Christian Ponder added 48 yards rushing on the ground, as the Vikings controlled the game.
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However, Christian Ponder was forced to miss the playoff game six days later, due to a deep triceps bruise he suffered during the first half of the previous game.
37.
Christian Ponder went into the 2013 season as the starting quarterback.
38.
Christian Ponder missed the week four game against Pittsburgh that was played in London due to a rib injury sustained during the Cleveland game, when team doctors did not let him play because they were concerned of the fractured rib being too close to his heart.
39.
Christian Ponder said he was going to play more loosely, adding that he had already been benched so he had nothing to lose, an attitude he carried forward as he started the next six games for the Vikings.
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Christian Ponder did little more than hand the ball off to rookie running back Jerick McKinnon as the Vikings preserved and added to their lead in the game.
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Fans in attendance who had previously booed Christian Ponder, cheered his name like they had chanted "Teddy" earlier in the game.
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Four days later, Christian Ponder got his lone start of the season when Bridgewater was ruled out hours before the Thursday Night Football game against the Green Bay Packers.
43.
On March 13,2015, Christian Ponder signed with the Oakland Raiders on a one-year contract that included a $1.5 million signing bonus.
44.
Christian Ponder entered training camp playing with Oakland's second team offense behind starter Derek Carr but ahead of Matt McGloin.
45.
Christian Ponder had conversations about returning to Oakland after the first regular season game once Carr was injured, but once his injury was proven not serious, Oakland opted not to sign him.
46.
On November 25,2015, Christian Ponder signed with the Denver Broncos to be the third-string quarterback, while Peyton Manning nursed injuries.
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Christian Ponder grew up a Broncos fan and quickly flew out to Denver the week of Thanksgiving to sign with them, once the Broncos called him.
48.
In total, Christian Ponder spent the 2015 season on two different teams, worked out for two others and received interest from at least two more teams.
49.
Christian Ponder had previously worked out for the Cardinals just days before the 49ers called him.
50.
Christian Ponder was active as the backup quarterback for the final three games of the season, as backup to Colin Kaepernick, who took over for Gabbert.
51.
Christian Ponder did not make an appearance in any of the games.
52.
Christian Ponder's contract was not renewed following the firing of General Manager Trent Baalke.
53.
Christian Ponder attempted a comeback to play in the NFL under the tutelage of QB guru Brian Gottlieb, but he did not sign to another team after San Francisco.
54.
Christian Ponder married ESPN reporter Samantha Steele on December 17,2012.
55.
The couple first started seeing each other after Christian Ponder messaged her on Twitter.
56.
Bowden Ponder was named after Christian's college football coach at Florida State, Bobby Bowden, and goes by the name "Scout", derived from Samantha's favorite novel To Kill a Mockingbird.