Teddy Bridgewater Injury Update: No guarantee he returns
There hasn’t been much made public about Teddy Bridgewater and his health, until Thursday.
An ominous sign for the 2016 version of the Minnesota Vikings came very late in the preseason when quarterback Teddy Bridgewater suffered a severe, non-contact, knee injury in practice. Trade acquisition Sam Bradford led a 5-0 start, but that momentum could not be sustained and the Vikings finished 8-8.
There has been little indication of how Bridgewater is doing in his recovery, though Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer did say back in January that he was unsure of Bridgewater’s status. Some aggressive speculation late last month suggested Bridgewater was expected to miss the entire 2017 season, but even in a best-case scenario, Bradford seems sure to be the starter for Minnesota come Week 1.
Vikings’ general manager Rick Spielman spoke to the media on Thursday, on topics ranging from Adrian Peterson and the draft to another eye surgery for Zimmer. Bridgewater, of course, came up too, and Spielman suggested no football related activities yet. And, per Brian Murphy of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Spielman suggested Bridgewater is still merely trying to get back to being “functional.”
Almost six months removed from an injury that was beyond a torn ACL and involved a dislocation of the knee as well as his leg bones, Bridgewater’s slow progress can be expected. It seems like an overreaction to say he might never play again, but Spielman wasn’t willing to say Bridgewater would definitely be back.
Rick Spielman said there is still no timetable for Teddy Bridgewater. He would not say that he is 100 percent certain Teddy will be back.
— Matt Vensel (@mattvensel) February 23, 2017
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Bridgewater likely won’t ever be the same physically if he does return. He was fairly mobile and a functional runner over his first two NFL seasons, but overall accuracy and decision-making stood out as the strengths that were going to sustain his career. Those skills will likely remain when he’s back under center, but it’s clearly one step at a time for Bridgewater and he’s not particularly close to getting back on a football field right now.