Teddy Bridgewater left practice on Tuesday with a non-contact injury. This caused Minnesota Vikings practice to end early as the starting quarterback was evaluated on the field and transported to the nearby hospital. Late Tuesday evening the Viking released a statement about Bridgewater’s injury. He will be out for an extended timeframe with a dislocated knee and a serious tear to his ACL.
Vikings Director of Sports Medicine and Head Athletic Trainer Eric Sugarman on Teddy Bridgewater released the following statement about the starting quarterback’s injury.
Teddy Bridgewater suffered a non-contact injury today at practice. The injury was quickly identified as a dislocated knee. The injury was stabilized, and he was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment and evaluation. After undergoing an MRI, it was determined that Teddy suffered a complete tear to his ACL and other structural damage. Fortunately, there appears to be no nerve or arterial damage. Surgical repair will be scheduled within the next few days. Although the recovery time will be significant, we expect Teddy to make a full recovery. I would like to thank all of the medical professionals and our athletic training staff for all of their help today. Teddy has already displayed the attitude needed to overcome this injury and attack his rehab.
His injury is not career ending, but he will miss an extended period. It wouldn’t be surprising if Bridgewater never plays during the 2016 season unless the Vikings make the playoffs. Now they need to figure out how to alter their offense without Bridgewater under center. There are a few decent quarterbacks who the Vikings could trade for like Mark Sanchez or Colin Kaepernick who both aren’t in the good graces of their current team. Those two aren’t the only players they could go after, but the Vikings will need to act fast so they can have a new quarterback under center before Week 1.
Minnesota’s current backup quarterback Shaun Hill has never started a full NFL season. He’s been a seasoned backup quarterback, so the Vikings will need to find a better option if they are to have any chance of winning the NFC North. For now, though, Hill is the starting quarterback for the Vikings until they decide which route they want to go. Also, other teams may be in the mix for Sanchez and Kaepernick as teams have to have their rosters down to 53 people before preseason ends.