Minnesota Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder told ESPN Wednesday that the bruised triceps on his throwing arm that kept him out of his team's playoff loss at Green Bay has healed fully, but he had a scare about two weeks later when the contusion came back, swelling his arm and hardening the muscles. Ponder said he thought it was a blood clot and went to the emergency room to be safe, while doctors initially wanted to rush him into surgery.

The 25-year-old quarterback called Vikings trainer Eric Sugarman, who talked to the doctor and advised that they give Ponder an MRI first. "I called Sugs first, and thank goodness, because the doctor in the ER -- she was a great help, but like wanted to go into surgery," Ponder told reporters, according to 1500ESPN.com. "She thought it was compartmental syndrome. Luckily, Sugs called at the right moment and talked to the doctor and said don't do anything crazy, just go get him an MRI to make sure, and it ended up being fine."

Ponder said that about two weeks later, "all the effects went away." "Since then, I've been working out probably two months, and it's been fine," he said.

The Vikings selected Ponder with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft to be the franchise quarterback. Although he has shown slight improvement since his first season, the jury is still out on the quarterback many believed Minnesota took a huge reach for during his third season.

With the addition of former Packer veteran Greg Jennings and first-round draft pick Cordarrelle Patterson out of Tennessee to go alongside reigning-MVP Adrian Peterson, the biggest question on the Vikings offense is whether Ponder is a true franchise quarterback. During two NFL seasons, Ponder has a career completion percentage of 59.2, 4,788 yards, 31 touchdowns and 25 interceptions.