News that Minnesota Vikings quarterback, Teddy Bridgewater, tore his ACL and dislocated his knee has a lot of fans grieving. Taylor Heinicke, last year’s No. 3 quarterback, has been out all preseason with an injury, and undrafted rookie Joel Stave has struggled mightily at times during practices.
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If that doesn’t sound satisfactory, well, that’s probably because it’s not.
Because of that, there are some important things to watch for when the Minnesota Vikings host the Los Angeles Rams, and here are five of them, starting with the passing game.
Zimmer tried to straddle a fence in his remarks between being concerned for Bridgewater, one of the most popular players on the team, and not allowing his players to give up on a season that has not even started.
Bridgewater isn’t the most prolific quarterback in the league, throwing just 28 TD passes in his first two seasons combined, but he is considered a steady hand who doesn’t make mistakes and is highly respected by teammates.
At this point, nobody knows what that move is going to be. Mark Sanchez is the cheaper option but they could also go for Colin Kaepernick, who has previously proved he can be a star quarterback for his team.
Also cut by the Vikings were offensive tackle Austin Shepherd, defensive end Theiren Cockran, offensive tackle Sean Hickey, tight end Brian Leonhardt, defensive tackle Claudell Louis, receiver Marken Michel, linebacker Terrance Plummer, wide receiver Terrell Sinkfield, quarterback Brad Sorensen and wide receiver Troy Stoudermire.
“I feel like Shaun is going to do a great job for us and I have confidence in him and he’s shown what he’s able to do in the passing game, ” Peterson said. (He dropped the first interception attempt).
Mike Zimmer, coach of the Vikings, spoke briefly with Bridgewater after the injury and offered the 23-year-old some encouragement, “Hang in there”. “Don’t run to the other sideline, celebrate with our crowd”.
The craziest thing about the entire situation is that Bridgewater’s nightmarish injury occurred on a non-contact play. “I love this kid”. He’s a competitor. He works, he studies, he fights, he’s made some interceptions here in this offseason.
“I can go down the line”, Zimmer said, “and I’ll take them with me into an alley anywhere”.
Alexander kept both balls he intercepted.
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It was that ineffable quality about Bridgewater, Zimmer figured, that got so many players from South Florida to follow him to Louisville.
