The window soon will be closing on the Vikings ability to let quarterback Teddy Bridgewater practice without devoting a roster spot to him. And just as that window closes, the Vikings will move a player from the roster and put Bridgewater back on it.
Despite an effort by coach Mike Zimmer to mildly equivocate, Bridgewater will be back. As previously mentioned, the nature of his injury (a non-contact ACL and related damage) makes clearance to practice also clearance to play. And Bridgewater is, and has been, ready to play.
If he’s not moved to the roster, Bridgewater’s contract will toll for a year, prompting an inevitable grievance from Bridgewater challenging the decision to not declare him ready to play and, in turn, ready to hit the market in March, barring a new deal.
If he’s added to the roster (he will be), the question is whether, when adding Bridgewater to the roster, the Vikings will try to slip quarterback Kyle Sloter through waivers and on to the practice squad, or whether they will shut quarterback Sam Bradford down for the rest of the season.
Don’t be surprised if it’s the latter, since Bradford has played less than one half of one game since Week One, with no indication he’ll be ready to go again this year.
So it will likely be Bridgewater, Sloter, and Case Keenum for the rest of the year, with the biggest question becoming whether and when Bridgewater will take over for Keenum, who has played surprisingly well in place of Bradford.