The NFL has been dominated by stars getting injured, having their season end early. One of the better stories in the NFL is Teddy Bridgewater. Bridgewater took the practice field for the Vikings 14 months after suffering a non-contact leg injury. Many thought his career might be in jeopardy, but he blocked out all the negative thoughts and trained hard to get back to this point. Now that he is back on the field, he is confident that he can help the Vikings win games, as he feels as though he can take the field this season.
Long Journey
Bridgewater hurt himself last year during Vikings practice.
He suffered a dislocated knee, a torn ACL and other ligament damage in his left knee. Bridgewater was coming off a great second year with the Vikings, completing 65 percent of his passes and throwing for over 3,000 yards. The Vikings made the trade to acquire Sam Bradford in Bridgewater's absence, but they expected Bridgewater to make a full recovery. Hours of rehab and workouts led him back to practice field.
Teddy called returning to practice a "mini milestone" and that coming out of that tunnel onto the practice field "did something to me, in a good way." He knows that the journey is far from over, as he is set to do some drills over the next couple weeks. It could simple things like throwing passes in the pocket or being forced to make sudden movements, testing out his repaired knee.
Coach Mike Zimmer and the Vikings plan to ease Bridgewater back into practice while he is on the PUP list. He has 17 days left on the list before the Vikings decide to take him off. While on the list the Vikings will try to get him into "uncontrolled" environments in 11 on 11 drills.
Confident and ready
The Vikings' slow approach to Bridgewater's return is a smart one, as his knee was virtually torn apart.
Now that he is back on the field, Teddy feels as if he can help the team win some games once he gets more game-like situations under his belt. Viking defenders will have to hold up their end of the bargain, making the scenarios as real as possible, maybe even laying a few hits on the QB. No player wants to be the first to hit him, but Bridgewater is "very confident" in his left knee, or he wouldn't be on the practice field.
Teddy Bridgewater is at a great point in his road to recovery. He is back with his teammates, and they are happy to see him on the field again, as many saw the QB go down with the injury. Taking it slow is the key with Bridgewater, but making sure he gets real game scenarios is just as important. Bridgewater has intentions to play this season, and he is on the right track.
