This past Wednesday, the Minnesota Vikings promoted Teddy Bridgewater from the physically unable to perform list (PUP list) to the active roster. This is the first time in almost 15 months that Bridgewater has been on the active roster. To make room for him on the 53 man roster, Sam Bradford was moved to the IR after he suffered a possibly career threatening knee injury. According to ESPN, he had an arthroscopic procedure on Tuesday to mitigate the damage to his injured knee. There isn’t any major damage, but during the procedure, some cartilage was cleaned up and a bone spur was smoothed out.
This past week Case Keenum started in a win against the Redskins and Bridgewater served as the backup. The Vikings want to give Bridgewater as much time he needs to get up to speed. He hasn’t practiced since the end of August 2016, when he first suffered the achilles tear. While he can get up to speed with the receivers and evade defenders, the first time he will get hit is in a game, according to the Vikings’ coaching and training staffs.
This offseason, the Vikings will have to make a decision related to the future of the quarterback position. Both Keenum and Bradford will be free agents at the end of the season. Because Bridgewater spent the first six weeks of the season on the PUP list, his contract will extend until the end of 2018. The Vikings will have to decide if they want to keep Bradford, which could be a risk considering the uncertainty of his knee. Another decision they have to make is if they want to keep Keenum to compete with Bridgewater, thus providing the Vikings a needed safety net at the quarterback position, regardless of who is the starter. The other quarterback on the Vikings is Kyle Sloter, who is normally on Minnesota’s scout team, but is currently their third string quarterback. If they want to keep Sloter, they would likely have to let go of either Bradford or Keenum, or carry four quarterbacks and be thin at another position.
According to the Vikings, Bridgewater’s teammates have noticed that the newly activated quarterback is stronger and is throwing better. Having Bridgewater back on the roster is another bright spot in the 2017 season for the Vikings, as they are leading the NFC North, have one of the best defenses in the league, and have won five straight games. Now, Bridgewater has to prove that he can return to form. Also, he has to prove that he is no longer injury prone and that he can handle NFL defenses again. Next season will be an important one for him because, as mentioned, his contract is up. Minnesota has a really good problem on their hands right now, but it is still a problem that upper management and their coaches will have to work together to solve.