Rapoport: No timetable for Sam Bradford return; Teddy Bridgewater healthy

As we move into what might be the most closely watched bye week since it was implemented by the NFL, the Minnesota Vikings are going to have to make some sort of decision on quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. The team brought him back to practice after their Week 6 victory over Green Bay, and that started their three week “clock” to make a decision on his status.

Mike Zimmer and company now must decide during the bye week whether or not they are going to move Bridgewater to the 53-man roster or allow him to revert to the injured reserve list, which would end his season. During the NFL Network’s pregame festivities, insider Ian Rapoport spoke a bit about the team’s quarterback situation.

Rapoport is reporting that, as things stand right now, there is no timetable on a return for Sam Bradford. Bradford had a brilliant performance in the Vikings’ victory in Week 1 over New Orleans, but has only played two quarters of sub-optimal football since then. He made the trip to London, but did not practice with the team, and has not practiced in quite a while. If the bye week allows Bradford to sufficiently heal, it’s going to muddy the waters at quarterback for the Vikings even more, but nobody’s sure if that’s going to be the case.

Conversely, the Vikings actually seem to be more positive about Bridgewater’s status than they are about Bradford’s. Rapoport reports that the team is expected to activate Bridgewater sometime before they are required to so and that they “still view him as their franchise quarterback.” So, apparently it isn’t completely ludicrous to think that Teddy Bridgewater could be starting at quarterback for Mike Zimmer’s team sooner rather than later.

It will, indeed, be a very interesting bye week for Vikings fans, and all eyes will certainly be on Winter Park to see what moves the team makes in regards to their quarterback position. The fact that they’re 6-2 with as much intrigue around the game’s most important position as they’ve had speaks volumes about not only the level of talent this team possesses throughout the rest of the roster, but the way that Case Keenum has handled the position for the majority of this season.