Sam Bradford visiting Dr. James Andrews again; Vikings won’t waive Kyle Sloter

By 3:00 PM Central time tomorrow, the Minnesota Vikings will likely be activating quarterback Teddy Bridgewater from the Physically Unable to Perform List to the 53-man roster. While we’ve talked about what Rick Spielman and company might do in order to facilitate that move, it appears that those options are being whittled down significantly.

For starters, ESPN’s Chris Mortensen is reporting that quarterback Sam Bradford is not in Minnesota right now, and is having yet another visit with renowned surgeon Dr. James Andrews. Andrews has performed Bradford’s ACL reconstructions in the past, and was also consulted by Bradford when his injury first became an issue. I would assume that the news that the Vikings get from this meeting between Bradford and Andrews will determine whether or not the team puts Bradford on injured reserve.

That appears to be the most likely move the team would make, as Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press is reporting that team sources have told him it is “highly unlikely” that the team will release quarterback Kyle Sloter to make room for Bridgewater’s activation. Sloter, who was very impressive in the preseason with the Denver Broncos, has served as Case Keenum’s backup since Bradford’s injury. The team appears to be very impressed with Sloter as a long-term prospect. As we’ve detailed in previous stories, if the Vikings were to release Sloter, he would be subject to the waiver process, meaning that there’s next to zero chance that the Vikings would be able to get him back.

I’d like to hope that Sam Bradford is going to get good news on his knee, but given that he hasn’t practiced since his ill-fated attempt to come back against the Chicago Bears over a month ago, I would be surprised if that was the case. It appears that we’ve likely seen the last of Sam Bradford in a Minnesota Vikings’ uniform. . .and, if the injury is as bad as some are thinking, possibly the last of him in the National Football League all together.

Everything is going to be clarified in about 24 hours, thankfully.