Saints backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater will face his old team on Friday night when the Vikings visit New Orleans for their preseason opener, and Bridgwater’s old coach is looking forward to it.
Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said he’s excited to see what Bridgewater is doing in New Orleans, three years after suffering a career-threatening injury in Vikings camp.
“I am proud of him,” Zimmer said, via ESPN. “For him to be able to come back from the type of injury that he had and still be playing in the NFL, our statistics when the injury happened, it was a pretty bleak outlook for him. That’s the kind of kid he is. I actually talked to Sean Payton today and he said he’s the same guy, no restrictions, doing well. And Teddy is a competitor. He’s going to try to stick it to us just like we’re going to try to stick it to him.”
Bridgewater, who was the Vikings’ starter at the time of his injury, has still thrown just 25 regular-season passes in the three years since that injury, and it remains to be seen whether he’ll ever be an NFL starter again. But given the prognosis after he suffered the injury, that he’s still in the league is something to be proud of.