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During the same press conference on Thursday that we referenced earlier, Minnesota Vikings’ GM Rick Spielman was asked about the status of injured quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. Bridgewater suffered a terrible non-contact knee injury at the end of August, and there has been speculation about when. . .or even if. . .Bridgewater would be able to take the field again.
If Spielman knows anything about it, he isn’t saying.
"I know where he's at today. No one knows where he's going to be three months from now," said Spielman. "You just have to react, and how he's reacting to his rehab, he's pushing it as hard as he can, and when it happens, it happens. But I don't have any concern that he's going to do everything that he possibly can to get back as quickly as he can."
When asked if the quarterback would play again, Spielman said, "Well, everybody's hoping, but I'm not a soothsayer."
Injuries like Bridgewater’s are rare, and while it reportedly could have been much worse than it was. . .Bridgewater apparently suffered no nerve damage to the knee thanks to the work of Certified Athletic Trainer Eric Sugarman™ and the paramedics. . .it’s difficult for anyone to know just how much further Bridgewater has left to go. We’ve seen video of Bridgewater doing agility drills as a part of his rehab, but that’s a far cry from putting the pads on and taking the field again. Spielman said during his presser that Bridgewater is not partaking in any “football-related activities” at the present time.
Spielman also said that, even in hindsight, he would make the trade for Sam Bradford that followed Bridgewater’s injury in a “mini-second.” (Or millisecond. . .I’m just going off the transcript.) Given what the Vikings’ quarterback situation would look like right now without Bradford in the fold, the proper response to this declaration from Spielman is “duh.” I mean, without the Bradford trade, Taylor Heinicke. . .who has never taken an NFL snap and was last seen losing an MMA fight to an apartment door. . .is penciled in as your starter at quarterback. Not sure that would exactly fill anyone with confidence.
So, depending upon how much stock you put in the words of the master of Rickspeak, Teddy Bridgewater’s rehab is progressing, but nobody except Bridgewater and the Vikings is really sure to what extent.