Rookie quarterback Christian Ponder looked pretty good Sunday in the Minnesota Vikings’ 3-point victory over the Carolina Panthers.

Could Ponder be the franchise QB this Editorial Board has pined for?

We have written many times how fans are weary of the Vikings being a retirement home for aging quarterbacks. Our fans get to watch the old throwers on the last snaps of their careers.

Donovan McNabb was yet another in a long line: Brett Favre, Gus Frerotte, Brad Johnson, Randall Cunningham, Jeff George, Warren Moon, Jim McMahon and Rich Gannon.

Sure, a few have produced one-year successes — Cunningham and Favre. But the long line of old starters has been a reflection of another long line — failure to develop quarterback talent.

Whether it was trading away Brad Johnson, putting too much stock in Daunte Culpepper or skipping good QB picks in the draft, the Vikings haven’t had a franchise quarterback since Tommy Kramer and haven’t had a long-term franchise quarterback since Fran Tarkenton.

Many other NFL teams get to have their franchise quarterbacks, their go-to guys: Tom Brady, Eli Manning, Peyton Manning (injured this season), Ben Roethlisberger, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Joe Flacco, Jay Cutler, Matthew Stafford, Tony Romo and so on. Some of them lead teams for 10 years or more.

The sports media plays up the quarterback controversies, like the one over Tim Tebow in Denver, but otherwise most teams have their man.

It’s good that Vikings coach Leslie Frazier is going to stick with Ponder.

He isn’t putting up big numbers, but he is showing a lot of poise and making smart decisions. He is a cool customer in pressure situations. He is the Vikings’ shot at having a franchise quarterback. That’s what fans want, and, conveniently, it is what the franchise needs.