Bradford Reportedly has Bone Bruise. Vikings Confident in Keenum. Teddy Updates, too!

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Sep 19, 2017

Another day, another handful of Bradford related topics!

The Vikings reportedly believe that franchise QB Sam Bradford has a bone bruise, which is actually encouraging as it means it must’ve been a contact related injury (during the Saints game). The alternative would’ve been that it wasn’t something related to contact but rather wear and tear, and considering that he’s had two surgeries to repair ligaments in that knee, it could’ve meant that it’d be a more chronic issue that he/the team would’ve had to deal with all season/the rest of his career (which would’ve potentially been over if that were the case). The bone bruise was reported by NFL Network. There’s also a piece on the cover of this morning’s Star Trib that focuses on comments made by Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer and doesn’t name a bone bruise but doesn’t really give a diagnosis, either.

In a confusing statement in which he said he didn’t think it was due to the previous surgeries (but in which he also said that Bradford did have two surgeries and sometimes his knee swells up because of it), Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer said:

“I don’t think it’s a result of the surgeries. I think he twisted it or something during the game. But I don’t think it has anything to do with the surgeries.”

However, NFL Network reported that the team does believe it’s a bone bruise. So while that is good news, bone bruises are notoriously hard to deal with and can be something that only lasts a single week or as long as six to eight weeks. That’s why Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer said that he doesn’t have a “crystal ball” when it comes to Bradford’s return. Zimmer is typically standoff-ish when it comes to player injuries so people assume(d) he was just being Zimmer when he discussed Bradford’s injury but the reality is that he genuinely doesn’t know. He even apologized for his “curt” post-game press conference in which he discussed Bradford’s injury and said he was “fine”. In a surprising and genuine comment, Zimmer said:

“You know, sometimes after the game, I’m upset, and I know our fans deserve better than that. But they didn’t have any wine for me in the locker room to chill out. Where I get frustrated is, I want to protect my players. I’m never going to put a player out on the field that cannot take care of himself. I don’t have a crystal ball. When he’s ready, he’s going to play. I don’t think it’s going to be a long time, but I have no idea.”

He then elaborated on Bradford’s injury, with about the same amount of information as the presser he apologized for, which shows how up in the air this situation really is:

“I anticipate that when he’s ready to practice and he’s ready to play, he’ll be able to play, honestly, I don’t have a crystal ball. I know you guys want to ask me about all these things, but I don’t have a crystal ball, so, sorry. I wish I did; I’d call some games better.”

So, the good news is that bone bruises are just painful and the NFL obviously has ways to deal with pain. The plan is (according to Tom Pelissero), inject the bone and surrounding area (ouch) and see how Bradford reacts to that:

With that though, comes uncertainty. After the game that Case Keenum had against Pittsburgh, people (including this writer) are pining for another external solution until either Bradford can return, or even Bridgewater becomes available (which is also reportedly at least a few weeks away).

However, Zimmer responded to reports on Bridgewater by saying he also isn’t sure when he’ll be available, saying:

I know there’s reports out there he’s going to be ready in six weeks, I have no idea.”

Either way… That means the Vikings will most likely have to rely on Keenum, who struggled mightily against the Steelers last week but did look good in the pre-season (after a rough start there, also). According to the Star Tribune this morning, the Vikings are also apparently not looking externally for QB help and are confident that the team can win with Keenum at the helm. Zimmer blamed Keenum’s play on the play of the offensive line, as Keenum was pressured on nearly half of his dropbacks Sunday (while also stating that he perhaps dropped back too far on many throws):

“Quite honestly, a lot of it, the protecting and the quarterback depth [in the pocket], a lot of these things go hand-in-hand, he got deep a couple times, and we’re not protecting at that depth. Some of it was that. We were late out of the snap one time. For the most part, we got on the right guys.”

Hopefully, they’re right, as the Vikings cannot afford to go winless while they wait for Bradford to return. The NFC North is a competitive enough division without any additional drama and with the Packers losing both the game and potentially their number one receiver in Jordy Nelson for the next few weeks, now would be the time to take a lead in that regard. Hopefully, the injection of what I assume is cortisone will do enough to abate the pain that Bradford is feeling while his leg heals, although you also don’t want to rush him back at the same time. The last thing this team needs is a nagging injury to Bradford, even with the idea of Teddy coming back “mid-season” Bradford has shown that he can play at a level that very few quarterbacks can and if this team really wants to go for it they need him as healthy as possible as the season progresses.

Stay tuned to purplePTSD.com and our sister site VikingsTerritory.com for more news on the Vikings!

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