Vikings coach Mike Zimmer wasn’t at the team’s Organized Team Activities this week, but quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was in attendance and, as seen in a video posted on the Vikings website, working on the field.
General Manager Rick Spielman noted that Bridgewater has not been fully cleared after last year’s knee injury and that there are plenty on unknowns about how things will play out from here, but the video provided some optimism about Bridgewater’s ability to return to action. Zimmer, whose plans to return to the team after eye surgery were announced on Friday, counted himself among those pleased by what they saw when asked about Bridgewater in a conference call.
“I saw that tape, too,” Zimmer said, via ESPN.com. “He’s throwing the ball well. He’s got good velocity, accurate. He’s working his rear end off. It just makes you proud for him. He’s still got a long ways to go. But he’s progressing as well as anybody could expect, I would think.”
The Vikings have been guarded about discussing any kind of timeline for Bridgewater’s recovery and they’ll likely remain that way until there’s enough evidence that talking a return to action has moved from an optimistic thought to a realistic one. This week felt like a step toward that point and the quarterback will be watched closely the rest of the offseason for others.