It’s been a long time since Teddy Bridgewater stepped on the field for the Minnesota Vikings. But his return may be just around the corner. Bridgewater is eligible to return to practice from the PUP list in three weeks.
When will Teddy Bridgewater be back?
The Vikings have been getting along pretty well without him, but he could be active again in just three weeks.
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Jeanna Kelley has been covering the Falcons for The Falcoholic since 2011 and the NFL for SB Nation since 2015.
Bridgewater suffered a devastating knee injury just before the start of the 2016 season. The non-contact injury was a torn ACL and dislocated knee, and it’s kept him off the field ever since. Bridgewater was able to do some throwing during OTAs, but Minnesota placed him on the Physically Unable to Perform list before training camp, and kept him on it when the season began.
The PUP list works differently from injured reserve. Any player who begins the season on PUP can return to the field as long as they’re medically cleared, but they have to remain on PUP for the first six weeks of the season. That means Bridgewater is eligible to return for Week 7.
The Vikings traded for Sam Bradford just before the 2016 season began. Bradford quietly had a decent season despite shaky offensive line play and not much of a run game. He finished with 3,877 yards, 20 touchdowns, and five picks.
He was one of the league’s best in Week 1 of the 2017 season, with 346 yards and three touchdowns in a 29-19 win over the Saints. But a knee injury has kept him off the field ever since, and it’s been Case Keenum time in Minnesota. Keenum had a rough outing against the Steelers in Week 2, but he was outstanding in Week 3 against the Buccaneers. Keenum threw for 369 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions.
So the Vikings seem to be OK without Bridgewater for now, but Keenum’s Week 3 performance is an outlier compared with the rest of his career. And Bradford’s status remains up in the air.
But Bridgewater hasn’t played since the 2015 season. That year, he completed 65.3 percent of his passes for 3,231 yards, 14 touchdowns, and nine interceptions.
Bridgewater should be physically ready to play when he’s eligible to return, according to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio. The Vikings will reportedly proceed with caution, rather than rush Bridgewater back on the field. That’s wise considering how serious his injury was — he had to be helicoptered off the field — and questions at the time about whether he’d be able to play again.
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