Teddy Bridgewater wasn’t sour. When he was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings, he knew he had to beat out an NFL Pro Bowl quarterback. Don’t blame the kid if he’s not beating himself up after losing the starting job to Matt Cassel. He understands that he’s only 21. His time will come.
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“I take my hats off to Matt,” Bridgewater said, via The Star Tribune. “He’s been playing great this preseason. I’m just going to continue to learn under him.”
Cassel deserves the hats off salute, because Bridgewater put hot water under the Vikings new starter. Bridgewater did admirable work fighting the 10-year veteran for a job. The Vikings have two solid quarterbacks — but they went with experience.
“Matt has been playing some good football so far. He’s been great at mentoring the guys in the room. It was an overall team decision and I’m very excited for Matt,” Bridgewater said.
Bridgewater would do well to soak it all in. Cassel learned from Tom Brady. Much like coaches having their “coaching tree,” quarterbacks have theirs two. Brady has mentored two current starters in the NFL in Cassel and Brian Hoyer. If Bridgewater wants to take over an NFL franchise after starting as a backup, he’d do well to listen to Cassel. He’s already demonstrating the right attitude.
“As I stated once I got drafted, I felt like this was the perfect situation for me,” he said. “Right now, I’m just able to learn, sit back and continue to learn, but also learn and prepare myself as a starter because as a backup you’re one play away from being out there on the gridiron with the guys.”