Report: Bridgewater’s NFL Career May Be Done With Vikings
Adam Patrick
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When news began to spread of a serious knee injury to Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater on the afternoon of August 30th this past summer, the hope for many was for this kid to be okay. When Bridgewater went down to the ground that day at practice, the Vikings’ medical staff immediately knew that this was no ordinary football injury.
The fact that an ambulance had to be called to get the quarterback to a hospital minutes after the injury initially occurred should tell someone just how serious it was.
The hope for Minnesota and their young quarterback is that he will make a full recovery and eventually return to the field one day to throw his first regular season touchdown in U.S. Bank Stadium. That is just a hope for now because no one truly knows if Bridgewater will ever be able to make it back onto the football field.
Recent reports have begun to pop up about the true chance of the quarterback ever returning to the NFL.
[quote_box_center]“As one doctor who’s worked with NFL teams said this week, ‘If he didn’t make it back, it wouldn’t surprise me. This is a bad injury, about the worse knee injury a player can have.’ ” – Adam Schefter, ESPN[/quote_box_center]
Obviously Bridgewater and the Vikings are trying to remain as optimistic as possible about the quarterback’s chances of recovery, but they all know that his time in the league could also be over.
The history of this injury in the NFL is not a bright one either. Running backs Marcus Lattimore of the San Francisco 49ers and Napoleon McCallum of the Los Angeles Raiders both suffered a Bridgewater-like knee injury during their careers.
Niether player ever played another down in the NFL after their injury.
Minnesota has already had one player defy the odds of humanity when Adrian Peterson had an MVP season in 2012, less than a year after he suffered a torn ACL. Can Bridgewater be the next Vikings player to come back better than ever from a major knee injury?
Time will tell, but for now it seems like a Minnesota miracle would be necessary for that to happen.