You never like to see the word “gruesome” thrown around when talking about a football injury, but that’s exactly what was immediately flouted out into the media today when the Minnesota Vikings announced that their quarterback, Teddy Bridgewater, had injured his knee during practice Tuesday.
Reportedly the injury came on a non-contact play, but was horrific. So bad that, according to the NFL Network’s Ian Rappaport, Bridgewater’s own teammates vomited at the sight of it. Bridgewater was taken from the field by an ambulance and needed to be sedated. So it’s bad.
At the very least, it appears Bridgewater dislocated his knee according to the 911 call that was released late Tuesday.
Bridgewater’s season is unquestionably done, but with the extent of the injury unknown, but apparently awful, there’s a lot more than 2016 to worry about. Depending on how extensive the damage was, Bridgewater’s career and even life could be at stake right now. No one really seems to know anything yet.
But here’s what we do know; the Vikings’ chances as a serious contender just left the field in an ambulance too.
Prayers up for @teddyb_h2o. Only shoulders as strong as 5s can handle such adversity. #CallGod 🙏🏻
— Kyle Rudolph (@KyleRudolph) August 30, 2016
Bridgewater wasn’t the best player on Minnesota’s roster. That honor belongs to Adrian Peterson, but he was its most indefensible. If you don’t have a legitimate quarterback in the NFL, you really don’t have much at all. It appeared the Vikings had that settled with Bridgewater. Now they’ve got to call in the back ups and hope the season doesn’t fall apart. And it will.
Bridgewater was a week and a half away from starting his third season in the league, building off an 11-5 2015-16 campaign where he completed 65.3 percent of his passes for 3,231 yards and 14 touchdowns with just nine interceptions. With more experience and a few offensive upgrades, there’s no reason to think the Vikings wouldn’t be in the mix again. Nobody is thinking that now.
Please send a prayer up for @teddyb_h2o, he is a great man and God has a plan for him! We got your back teddy!
— Adam Thielen (@athielen19) August 30, 2016
Minnesota head coach Mike Zimmer tried to put on a brave face during his press conference as Bridgewater was headed to the hospital.
“We’re not going to stick our heads in the sand, tuck our tail between our legs,” Zimmer told reporters. “We’re not going to make excuses. Everybody can count us out, but I think that’d be the wrong thing to do.”
What are the Vikings’ options? Well, they’ve got 15-year veteran Shaun Hill on the roster right now. Hill has been through this before, stepping in for an injured Sam Bradford with the then St. Louis Rams just a few seasons ago. Hill is a decent back up quarterback who, if he maxes out his capabilities, might be able to win six games.
I hope you are good bro! @teddyb_h2o … My family and I are praying for you!
— Derek Carr (@derekcarrqb) August 30, 2016
Behind Hill is rookie Joel Stave out of Wisconsin and the only way he sees the field is if everything completely falls apart for the Vikings. Minnesota will need to bring in another guy and their easiest move is to call one of the cast-offs the other NFL teams cut loose Tuesday to get their rosters to 75 players.
Here’s who’s available: Jake Coker, Sean Renfree, Jerrod Johnson, Austin Trainor, Joe Licata, Austin Davis, Dylan Thompson, Brad Sorenson and Zach Mettenberger.
Of all those guys, Davis and Mettenberger have NFL starting experience. Davis always had the potential of being a real quarterback, but he wasn’t careful enough with the ball. Metternberger is a high-end back up, which the Vikings already have in Hill.
Praying for you @teddyb_h2o
🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾
— Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) August 30, 2016
There’s no reason for the Vikings to hurry and make a decision. The final cut-down to 53 is coming and plenty of quarterbacks will be hitting the streets, with Mark Sanchez, Geno Smith Tyler Bray, Aaron Murray all potentially on the street. Smith would actually be an excellent pick up for the Vikings and could possibly equal an eight or nine-win season.
For now, Zimmer has to roll with Hill either way.
“I have confidence in Shaun,” Zimmer said. ” I think he’s played great this preseason. He’s been in two-minute drills. He’s done a phenomenal job. The thing we have to remember is this is about a team. This isn’t a one-man deal.”
But it really is. It’s why teams value quarterbacks so highly and trade their entire drafts to get one. It’s why they make more money than any other player on the field. It’s a one-man deal. And Teddy Bridewater and the Vikings just got a raw one.
