Teddy Bridgewater Returns To Practice Today

The excitement for the return of Teddy Bridgewater is reaching peak frenzy as he is set to comeback to the practice field today for the first time in 14 months. But head coach Mike Zimmer wants to remind everyone that this is Bridgewater’s return to practice, not playing.

Andrew Krammer from the Star Tribune reported that Zimmer is happy that Bridgewater is back, but he wants everyone to have realistic expectations for Bridgewater’s return. “We still don’t know where [practice reps are] going to go or where that’s going to lead to. But I think everybody feels good for him because they know what kind of kid he is and how hard he’s worked. He’s probably not going to play this week, so we need to put the brakes on things a little bit.”

While everyone is getting comfortable on the Teddy train, we need to remember that Bridgewater has not played for over a year. There will be rust but more importantly we have to remember that his knee suffered damage that none of us will hopefully know. I am just as excited for Bridgewater to come back, but it wouldn’t be wise to not start him sooner than needed. I would rather have him fully healthy than have a setback.

Bridgewater has had some time on the field but it has been minimal. Today will be the first day that he will be back in head first. “He’s been in a very controlled environment for the last 14 months,” Zimmer said. “So, eventually, we have to work him into some uncontrolled environments.”

The next few weeks will be the ultimate test to see how Bridgewater looks and what the Vikings will do with him. There will be much speculation about who will be the quarterback going forward and what will happen with the odd man out. But in the meantime, all aboard the Teddy train.