The Vikings have two starting-caliber quarterbacks. But they don’t know who their starting quarterback will be beyond this season.
Sam Bradford, who was the equivalent a year ago of a spare tire thrown onto the axle of a moving car, remains under contract for one more year. Teddy Bridgewater, the tire that blew out violently last August, also is under contract for one more year.
It’s got the potential to become a conundrum for the Vikings, and G.M. Rick Spielman welcomes that outcome.
“I hope, at the end of the season, that we have that difficult decision to make because it’s better to have two high-quality players at that position than to have none at all,” Spielman told Gridiron-Magazine.com, before praising each guy.
“Think about what Sam Bradford had to do last season,” Spielman said. “He had never been around this team, had never heard a play call and didn’t know our system. For him to learn that offense and manage through so much adversity having only been here a short time was something that was really difficult to do. Watching him throughout the offseason in OTAs, mini-camp and now training camp -- Sam has been phenomenal and we’re expecting a big year out of him.”
They’re also expecting, well, something out of Bridgewater this year.
“Teddy has been amazing as well,” Spielman said. “He has attacked his rehab and he appreciates football even more because it was taken away from him. That was an injury where people thought he may never play football again. His mindset has been unbelievable and he is showing determination to get back on the field as soon as he can.”
And that’s where this one continues to be potentially very intriguing. If Bridgewater, who currently is on the active/PUP list, heads to the reserve/PUP list when the rosters move from 90 to 53 on Labor Day weekend, there’s a chance his contract tolls for a year, putting him under contract through 2018 and, in turn, making the Vikings’ “good problem to have” a little less problematic.
In theory, that is. Because there’s a chance that a decision by the Vikings to not activate Bridgewater before the roster deadline will spark a grievance from the player and his union and, potentially, hard feelings between player and team. Spielman previously acknowledged the CBA quirk in vague terms during an appearance on PFT Live, but he didn’t definitively say whether it applies.