Teddy Bridgewater returns to the practice field for Vikings

One year after a gruesome injury, Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater returned to the practice field. Here’s video evidence…

Last offseason, Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater suffered a gruesome injury, one that looked like it could potentially be career-ending. After a year of rehab, Bridgewater made his return to the field, and it is a fantastic sight to see:

Bridgewater appeared to be on pace to help lead the Vikings to prominence in the NFC North, and was vastly improved in 2015 — his second year in the NFL — compared to his rookie season. Entering year three, the Vikings had high hopes to contend for a Super Bowl before Bridgewater’s non-contact knee injury.

There’s no guarantee he’s going to play in 2017, and because of that, the Vikings declined his fifth-year player option as a former first round pick.

After Bridgewater was injured in 2016, the Vikings made a desperation move, trading away a 2017 first round pick for Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford. That move looked great for the Vikings in the early goings of the 2016 season, as Bradford helped lead the team to an undefeated start.

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Then, the rails came off. The Vikings ended up finishing in third place in the NFC North behind the Packers and Lions, and were left with more questions than answers about the future of their quarterback position.

Perhaps there’s still hope for Bridgewater, who clearly hasn’t given up on playing by any means. Bradford isn’t a model of perfect health as far as his NFL career is concerned, so Minnesota has to have a contingency plan in place in case he gets hurt again.

If Bridgewater can return to form — which could be a long shot — the Vikings could re-emerge as legitimate contenders in the NFC. He’s probably not going to be the same player he was before as far as his potential as a runner, but as a passer, Bridgewater can still find a way to get it done.

Here’s hoping his progress has been significant enough that we will continue to see developments like this throughout the offseason.