Losing Teddy Bridgewater

While Teddy Bridgewater’s knee literally exploding for no apparent reason is bad for the 2016 Minnesota Vikings, it is far worse for the Vikings of the future. While I am generally not a fan of the eye test when it comes to sports, I genuinely hate it when it comes to football. Why? Because there is no reason on earth (that my eyes can see) why Peyton Manning should be better than, well, anybody. So when I sat down to look at Bridgewater’s numbers over the last couple of seasons, the moneyballer inside of me said, “Hey, this isn’t bad, replacing 3000 yards and 14 touchdowns should be doable.” And it is. This season is far from over for the Vikings. But their future just took several steps back.

Bridgewater was drafted as a high floor player, arguably the QB in the 2014 draft that was the most NFL ready. The question was always about his ceiling. This was the year we were going to get to see it. This is the year we would know just how much of a steal he was at the end of the first round. For a high floor player, his arrow was pointing straight up.

Teddy Bridgewater has one stat that really jumps out. His completion percentage has been better than anybody else in the history of the NFL through their first two seasons. Only Robert Griffin had a higher percentage in a rookie year and only Trent Edwards and Carson Palmer (68%? Jesus…) were better in sophomore ventures. Think about that for a second. I know. It doesn’t seem right. This is why people were so incredibly high on a 3000 yard, 14 touchdown, 12 interception guy. He was putting up completion numbers that hadn’t been seen before.

But the 2016 Vikings can still be good. They can still make the playoffs. Mike Zimmer is apparently already talking to back-up quarterback guru Bill Parcells. They still have one of, if not the best running back in the country. Their defense was still top five in the league last year. If Shaun Hill, Josh Freeman, Mark Sanchez, or whoever they decide to go with can even be average, they will have a chance. Sadly, however, they need to start looking quarterback soon. And not just one to hold them over.

This hurts Vikings fans. Teddy Bridgewater was, by all accounts, adored by everyone in the organization. He was also taken in a slot in the draft where you got the best value for a first round pick and still had the first round 5^th year option to execute. A perfect spot for a player like Bridgewater. It’s not that Bridgewater can’t come back. It’s that now you just can’t know. For every Tom Brady and Carson Palmer, who made full recoveries, there’s a Donovan McNabb or Sam Bradford, neither of whom were ever really the same. Now, future Vikings teams must deal with this uncertainty, and that means planning for the worst.

It sucks when your knee decides to not be a knee anymore. Just ask the only guy better than Bridgewater at completing passes as a rookie.