Bridgewater cleared to rejoin Vikings for practice this week
Published 7:56 am Tuesday, October 17, 2017
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) — Teddy Bridgewater has been cleared to rejoin the Minnesota Vikings for practice, roughly 14 months after a dislocation and multiple ligament tears in his left knee put his leg and career at risk.
Coach Mike Zimmer said Bridgewater will be eased back in with the team beginning Wednesday.
“We’re not going to dose him out,” Zimmer said Monday, after the 24-year-old quarterback visited his surgeon, Dr. Dan Cooper at the Carrell Clinic in Dallas, and was given the green light to participate.
Bridgewater tweeted a simple “thank you” after getting the good news, effectively ending a grueling rehabilitation over the past year-plus.
When his knee buckled during a routine drop-back drill in a preseason practice on Aug. 30, 2016, the Vikings were devastated and the course of the franchise was altered significantly.
Director of sports medicine and head athletic trainer Eric Sugarman was credited for his fast action in saving Bridgewater from potential amputation due to the nerve damage that occurred during the massive injury.
“It’s a great deal for Teddy,” said Zimmer, who has been especially fond of the player the Vikings drafted with the final pick in the first round of the draft in 2014 a few months after he was hired. “We’ll take it one day at a time just like we have the last 14 months.”
Bridgewater has kept a constant presence but a low profile at team headquarters throughout his recovery. The only interview he has granted since he was hurt came on the first day of training camp, when he expressed full confidence that he’d return to action. His attitude throughout the ordeal has made a strong impression on teammates, coaches, staff and fans alike.