Vikings General Manager Rick Spielman officially declared this week that the team will not pick up the fifth-year option on quarterback Teddy Bridgewater’s rookie contract, and he says that decision was all about the knee injury Bridgewater suffered in practice last summer.
Spielman said on PFT Live that Bridgewater may still have a future in Minnesota, but for now the team just can’t count on him being healthy enough to play.
“It doesn’t mean Teddy wouldn’t be a Minnesota Viking, it just means, where his health is at this point, we wouldn’t pick up his option,” Spielman said.
Spielman noted that the Vikings picked up 2013 first-round pick Sharrif Floyd’s fifth-year option and are now on the hook for his $6.757 million salary this season even though he suffered a knee injury that could be career ending. The Vikings had some bad luck with first-round picks in both 2013 and 2014 suffering very serious knee injuries while still on their rookie contracts, and they think picking up Bridgewater’s option would risk making a bad situation even worse.