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Exactly one week from today, the Minnesota Vikings will have to make their final decision on the 2017 status of quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. The team has three weeks from the date they allowed Bridgewater to begin practicing with the team to decide whether or not to place him on the active roster, and that deadline will hit at 3:00 PM Central time next Wednesday, 8 November.
Both head coach Mike Zimmer and general manager Rick Spielman spoke about Bridgewater’s progress and future over the past couple of days. First, we’ll take a look at what Zimmer had to say in his press conference yesterday, where Zimmer said that he was “prepared” to activate Bridgewater.
“We’ll take it one day at a time, though, and see,” Zimmer said. “We’ve still got a few more days to figure it out.”
. . .
“We’ll continue to take it one day at a time,” Zimmer said of Bridgewater’s status. “Just see where he is at, where the team is at, how Case is doing and … how (Sam) is doing.”
Spielman spoke with SiriusXM NFL Radio on Wednesday, and while he expressed enthusiasm about how Bridgewater has progressed, expressed a little more caution about the situation.
Will Teddy Bridgewater be back under center this year? #Vikings GM Rick Spielman lays out the plan in Minnesota... pic.twitter.com/x9ayfM418f
— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) November 1, 2017
The main takeaway from the Spielman clip, in my opinion, is that he emphasizes that the Vikings “will never put a player out there that is not able to play the game of football.” This could be something that he felt the need to emphasize in light of what happened with Sam Bradford after his injury, when the team started him against the Chicago Bears in a game that Bradford, in hindsight, had no business being a part of.
The team was released on Tuesday to enjoy their bye week, and they will return to Winter Park this coming Monday to begin preparing for their Week 10 matchup in the nation’s capital against the Washington Redskins. By that point, I would imagine, the Vikings would know who will be starting at quarterback for that one. If they tip their hand before that, rest assured we will have the story here for you as soon as it comes down.