Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater suffered a dislocated knee and a torn ACL when he went down during a noncontact drill at practice Tuesday. The injuries unfortunately ended his 2016 season before it officially began.
via ESPN:
“Teddy suffered a complete tear to his ACL and other structural damage,” the team said in a statement Tuesday evening after Bridgewater underwent an MRI. “Fortunately, there appears to be no nerve or arterial damage.”
Bridgewater dropped back to pass during a drill, planted his foot and immediately went down. Trainers rushed to his side and began inflating an aircast, and the quarterback appeared to be holding his left leg.
Several players threw their helmets and shouted expletives as they scattered, and many simultaneously dropped to one knee in prayer. Moments later, a siren-blaring ambulance pulled into the team’s Winter Park headquarters, stayed for about 10 minutes and then pulled away.
“Today is a disappointing day. … The No. 1 thing is Teddy is such a great kid,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said. “Everyone loves him.”
Players were visibly distraught as they exited the field, and Zimmer said he spoke with the team prior to addressing the media.
“We’re gonna grieve today and be upset about it,” Zimmer told reporters. “It’s more about our feelings for Teddy and for him as a person and getting better than it is about anything else. Teddy’s a great kid, and he’ll be back as soon as he possibly can, if it is real bad. But we’re going to keep fighting.”
There is little behind Bridgewater on the depth chart. Shaun Hill is the primary backup, but he’s 36 years old and has played only sparingly over the past five years.
“I have confidence in Shaun. I think he’s played great this preseason,” Zimmer said. “The thing we all have to remember is this is about the team. We have a good team.”
Minnesota is also expected to re-sign quarterback Brad Sorensen, assuming he clears waivers. If the Vikings can bring back Sorensen, he and Joel Stave would both play in the team’s final preseason game.
Bridgewater is entering his third season in the NFL, and the Vikings were counting on him to take major steps forward after a promising start to his career. He helped lead the Vikings to the NFC North championship last season as more of a game manager, but Zimmer and offensive coordinator Norv Turner have said they expect him to be much more of a playmaker in 2016.
“Everybody can count us out, but I think that’d be the wrong thing to do,” Zimmer said.
The Vikings said Bridgewater is expected to make a full recovery.
