Teddy Approved to Play by Doctor by Week 6/Zimmer Expects Bradford to Start Tonight

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Oct 9, 2017

Well that’s good news!

That Vikings, who seem to be ever plagued by injuries to their most important players, finally received confirmation from Teddy Bridgewater’s doctor that he will be able to play by Week 6 of the 2017 season. Week 6 is the Packers game, by the way. That doesn’t mean that Teddy will play against the Packers, as it just means that he can return to practice that week. He will obviously need a lot of practice time to both build the muscle around his mangled leg, but also to shake off a year and a half of rust. This will create a media storm around which quarterback should be playing, as Sam Bradford has still yet to return from the mysterious knee injury he suffered against the Saints week 1, but is apparently set to return tonight against the Bears at Soldier Field. Ugh. Here comes the “QB Controversy”.

If you’ve followed this site for a while you’ll know where I stand on the Bradford vs. Bridgewater situation and I’m still firmly a Bradford guy. I like Teddy as a person and want him to succeed (obviously) but I feel like this is something that’ll create a huge distraction as the season goes on and also, and I know this is selfish, create issues with Teddy’s contract/future with the Vikings as well. The “hope” (by people like me) was that Teddy would sit out the 2017 season as well, to red-shirt his contract and push his contract extension deadline back a full year. That’s not going to happen now, and it really shouldn’t (if Teddy is ready/can play, let him “play” (or practice)), so it means that the Vikings will have a major decision to make at the end of the season (or well before that) in terms of which direction they want to take at the quarterback position.

Considering that head coach Mike Zimmer said the following:

It seems like this will be Bradford’s team until proven otherwise. The Vikings definitely need his arm/leadership as they went 1-2 in his absence in games that they otherwise could’ve won (Look at how the Steelers have been playing) with Bradford at the helm. With Michael Floyd returning to the line up as well, or coming to it for the first time (rather), this Vikings team could go back to the high flying ways they demonstrated against the Saints and Buccaneers.

So, strap in. The Dalvin Cook injury will become subject 1B for the year as the Teddy lovers start to pick apart every throw by Bradford as an example as to why Teddy should start/be the future. I know Teddy was still developing but the combination of that injury and the fact that he’s never proven to be a complete NFL QB (on the level that Bradford has since being traded to the Vikings) is something worth considering when you compare him to Bradford… But the Teddy-lovers are really just using a purely emotional rationale and that’s basically impossible to defeat in an argument, especially online. So, get ready! Unless Bradford throws for four TD’s tonight you’re going to see a TON of Teddy vs. Sam stuff, especially with the Packers game coming next week…

… I for one, don’t look forward to it. Come on Sam. Light up the Bears tonight. We need it.

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