LANDOVER, Md. — He didn’t play a snap, but you could tell by the
media crowded around his locker after Sunday’s game at FedExField
that it was a very special day for Minnesota Vikings quarterback
Teddy Bridgewater.
Vikings QB Teddy Bridgewater
Bridgewater, who hasn’t played since suffering a horrific left knee
injury before the start of the 2016 season, was activated Wednesday
and served as Case Keenum’s backup in Minnesota’s 38-30 win over
the Washington Redskins.
“It’s great,” Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer said of Bridgewater’s
return. “Teddy has worked extremely hard to get back to this spot
and it was good to see him out there. This is another step in the
process for him.”
The cameras caught Bridgewater on the sideline wiping away tears of
joy just before the game started.
“Just running out of that locker room, being able to stand next to
those guys on the sideline for the national anthem, it just all
boiled up,” Bridgewater said. “I kind of screamed a little bit on
the sideline after I said my prayer in the end zone. Then when I
got on the sideline, I was like, ‘Man, this is really about to
happen.'”
With Bridgewater watching, Keenum passed for 304 yards, four
touchdowns and two interceptions in the win.
“He’s a fan favorite. He’s my favorite too,” Keenum said. “I may
have a Teddy Bridgewater jersey at home. He’s a great dude and
teammate. I told somebody on the field that Teddy definitely raises
the cool factor of the quarterback group tremendously.
“He’s another set of eyes on the defense and being able to talk
about certain things, whether it’s protections, routes or coverages
(is helpful).”
Bridgewater suffered a non-contact injury to his left leg during
practice in August of 2016. He came away with a torn ACL and
suffered other structural damage, including a dislocation of the
knee joint.
Now, with Sam Bradford (knee injury) sent to injured reserve after
having arthroscopic surgery on Tuesday, Zimmer has Keenum,
Bridgewater and a two-game lead in the NFC North.
Keenum has completed 109 of 162 passes (67 percent) for 1,159 yards
with eight touchdowns and five interceptions during Minnesota’s
five-game winning streak. He was excellent most of Sunday, but his
two second-half interceptions helped Washington get back in the
game.
“I’ve got a plan and we’ll just see how it goes,” Zimmer said when
asked about Bridgewater after the game. “Sometimes plans change,
but we’ll see how it goes. We’ll sit down this week and we’ll visit
about it and we’re going to go from there.”