Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater suffered a “significant” knee injury in practice Tuesday and the team was awaiting tests to determine how long he might be out.
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The session was cut short due to the injury and it later emerged that Bridgewater had dislocated his knee and suffered a torn ACL after going down awkwardly following a dropped pass.
“I watched it on tape, ” said Vikings coach Mike Zimmer.
Carroll explained that the injury was so bad that Bridgewater could have literally bled out on the field if not for the quick actions taken by Minnesota’s trainers. The injury was stabilized, and he was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment and evaluation.
Bridgewater is expected to recover from reconstructive knee surgery in nine months, but if arterial or nerve damage is discovered, his return could be well over a year down the road.
Spielman said Bridgewater and his inner circle should choose a surgeon to do his surgery sometime in the next day or two. “So we expect a full recovery from Teddy”.
“I want to thank the Wilf Family and the entire Vikings organization, all of my teammates, friends, Eric Sugarman and the wonderful Vikings athletic training staff and the fans who have sent me messages and wished me well”. “I think he’s played great this preseason”.
But if the Vikings do pick up the option and Bridgewater suffers another injury that keeps him out in 2018, his fifth-year option would be guaranteed. “I know Shaun”s an older guy, I know that we have the utmost of confidence in him.
This injury is absolutely devastating for the Vikings, who have to decide between veteran backup Shaun Hill and perhaps a street free agent.
Players were visibly distraught as they exited the field, and Zimmer said he spoke with the team prior to addressing the media.
“We’re gonna grieve today and be upset about it”, Zimmer told reporters later on.
“This isn’t a one-man deal”, Zimmer said. “The No. 1 thing is Teddy is such a great kid”, Everyone loves him”.
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Going into his third season in the NFL, Bridgewater has shown steady improvement under center, which led to the Vikings finishing first in the NFC North with an 11-5 record last season. He said he had several conversations “in spirit” with his father, Bill, who died past year. “I thought we had a chance to make it far in the playoffs, new stadium, but that kind of flashed before my eyes, and I thought, not this year”, said Matt Sims, Minnesota Vikings fan.
