Minnesota Vikings practice was ended abruptly on Tuesday after quarterback Teddy Bridgewater suffered a serious knee injury. Bridgewater suffered a complete tear to the left A-C-L in his knee and additional structural damage.
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“This is about a team, and it’s about us trying to figure out ways to win football games”, he said. Surgical fix will be scheduled within the next few days.
“Although the recovery time will be significant, we expect Teddy to make a full recovery”, Vikings trainer Eric Sugarman said in a statement.
Asked if Bridgewater might be able to play this season, Zimmer said, per USA Today, “I don’t know … it doesn’t look good right now”. “Everybody loves him, so they were disappointed and I didn’t think we were going to get much out of practice today, so we’ll get back in here tomorrow and we’ll get back to work”. So I’m not going to feel sorry for us either.
In his first two seasons with the Vikings, Bridgewater posted a 17-11 record, and led the team to the NFC North division title last season. 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. We’re going to grieve today and be upset about it.
The Vikings now have a choice to make about their immediate future at quarterback as they are left to wonder if they trade to bring a replacement in or stick with one of their back up quarterbacks.
“I have confidence in Shaun”, Zimmer said. We’re going to go out and fight like we always do.
Bridgewater missed the second preseason game with a sore shoulder, but was very sharp on Sunday against San Diego. Some even threw up at the site of the injury. The visible and audible frustration from Teddy’s teammates is a reflection of the team’s optimism going into the upcoming season. But we’re going to keep fighting.
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The determined coach rattled off the names of 10 players that would be key to the team’s success in 2016, driving home his point that “this isn’t a one-man deal”.
