Vikings Have a QB Battle on their Hands Between Case Keenum and Taylor Heinicke, Spielman Shares Bridgewater Updates…
Joe Johnson
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Not too long ago I wrote about the emerging narrative in the Vikings writing world about the battle between Teddy Bridgewater and Sam Bradford. In my 33 years as a Vikings fan (I was a premie with jaundice so I came out yellow with a purple severed umbilical cord) I’ve never seen the type of love that some people have for Teddy Bridgewater. It’s an emotional love that transcends the game. So, it shouldn’t come as any surprise that a lot of those people are already taking the encouraging news about Bridgewater to essentially continue that narrative. But, the real battle at quarterback (As Teddy is months away from being full-strength, if not a year) is for the position on the depth chart AFTER Teddy or Bradford. A position that both recently acquired Case Keenum and long-time Vikings backup Taylor Heinicke are apparently battling for and at this point are “Neck and neck”, according to Vikings general manager Rick Spielman.
In the same conversation he had with Pioneer Press legend Chris Tomasson where he shot down rumors of the Vikings acquiring local gem, wide receiver Eric Decker (Which was covered in an amazing article by me, today), Spielman discussed another rumor/narrative about Bridgewater and his recovery. In regards to Teddy’s injury and timeline for return, Spielman said:
“Everybody asks me the timeline when he’s coming back, and it’s an unknown because of the severity of the injury, and there’s no history out there for a quarterback from coming back from this type of injury. I know his goal and everybody’s goal is to keep rehabbing and get him on the field hopefully as soon as he’s healthy.”
Spielman pointed out something that I think hasn’t gotten enough coverage in regards to Teddy’s injury. A lot (And I mean, A LOT) of people are assuming not only that Teddy is going to come back from the devastating injury he incurred last off-season, but that he’s going to come back sooner rather than later and be just as good as he was before. I call this “Adrian Peterson Syndrome”, thanks to the quick return and subsequent success that former Viking Adrian Peterson had in 2012 after tearing his ACL at the end of the 2011 season. Luke Braun, one of the head writers here at purplePTSD.com, recently said the idea that Teddy would never play again was “really stupid”. Considering I’m one of those people that consider that at least a possibility, even still, I think that it’s important to consider exactly what Spielman said. That no quarterback has ever had this type of injury before.
Considering that there’s no one to compare this to, and that his leg literally almost needed to be amputated, I think that people essentially need to lower their expectations. A lot. With a data size so non-existent no one knows how his plant leg will hold up, how that will effect his ability to throw, move around the pocket or have confidence in either. How it’ll hold up to getting hit, etc. On top of that, there’s the possibility that he injures the other leg the same way. It’s not know why his leg imploded in a non-contact drill, did he have a torn ligament that he just didn’t notice? Or is it a structural issue? Considering the extra weight he’ll put on his non-injured leg, I worry that something similar may happen when he returns.
Some may take Spielman’s quote as a sign that he’s going to be the starter as soon as he returns, thanks to the “Get him on the field as soon as he’s healthy” line, but he just means that he’ll essentially be on the field practicing as soon as he’s healthy (With the team, I mean, as he’s been out with everyone tossing the ball around during OTA’s). Considering that the Vikings don’t have either Bridgewater nor Bradford signed beyond the end of 2017, that’s something that could mean next year, if the Vikings essentially red-shirt Teddy this year, which they really, really should. Spielman sort of alludes to that, saying:
“But we’re not going to put his health at risk. We want to wait and make sure the doctors clear him before we would do anything to put Teddy out there.”
So, beyond Teddy and Bradford there’s the back-up position(s). While I am a big Bradford fan and the one representing him in an upcoming ‘Teddy v. Bradford’ battle on the PurpleFTW! Podcast… He does have an extensive injury history and the Vikings haven’t had a quarterback that has played every game in back to back seasons since 1978. While Bradford only played in 15 games last year (Because of when he was signed) he was still healthy and considering the above, I have a terrible feeling that he’s going to get hurt this season.
Because of that the Vikings did bring in former St. Louis/Los Angeles Ram Case Keenum this off-season as what seemed at the time to be much needed insurance. Especially considering veteran third stringer Taylor Heinicke was expected to be just that, a third stringer. So, it’s interesting to hear that he is “neck and neck” with Heinicke, who missed all of last year as well after deciding that kicking a glass door/window was a good idea for someone whose body determines their career. By interesting I mean surprising, as you’d think that Keenum would’ve been the de facto back-up considering his experience actually playing and the fact that the Vikings brought him in during free agency. Heinicke, however, has been known to have a cannon and perhaps is coming into his own after years as the third stringer for the Vikings and the familiarity that that brings (Even thought the Vikings are still probably learning offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur’s offense). So, it’ll be a fun thing to watch/cover during the rest of the off-season.
Stay tuned to purplePTSD.com as that off-season progresses as we’ll have full Training Camp coverage (Pictures, write-ups, Hepatitis from Mankato’s drinking water) and analysis. This will be a fun camp battle to watch, and the fact that there’s competition at the position is a good sign. It means that there’s talent at the spot, should Bradford go down at some point this season. Which, considering the team we root for, almost seems like a certainty (Don’t worry, I’m knocking on (Teddy’s) wood(en leg).