Report: Teddy Bridgewater’s Contract Will NOT Toll, QB Expected to Become a Free Agent

Sean Borman |

Feb 27, 2018

According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, the contract of Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is not expected to toll. Rapoport’s sources report Bridgewater, as well as the team, will each proceed as if the quarterback is a free agent.

With the March looming and some murkiness around #Vikings QB Teddy Bridgewater’s contract, he is expected to be a free agent, sources say. Minnesota is not planning to assert that his contract tolls and Bridgewater is proceeding as if he’s a free agent.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 27, 2018

Bridgewater, 25, suffered a devastating knee injury in August of 2016. Due to a lengthy rehab, the Vikings placed him on the PUP list for the first six games of the 2017 regular season. Under terms of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), any player on the PUP list through Week 6 in the last year of his contract will have their salary carried over to the following season. Article 20, Section 2 of the CBA states:

Any player placed on a Physically Unable to Perform list (“PUP”) will be paid his full Paragraph 5 Salary while on such list. His contract will not be tolled for the period he is on PUP, except in the last year of his contract, when the player’s contract will be tolled if he is still physically unable to perform his football services as of the sixth regular season game.

However, like the recent grievance of former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback AJ McCarron, the league appeared to be leaning to rule in favor of the player. Bridgewater has stated that he could have returned to the field much sooner than Week 6 and would have filed a grievance if his salary carried over. The Vikings will reportedly move forward without arguing the contract should toll.

Bridgewater is the second quarterback on the Vikings roster that reportedly is heading towards free agency. Rapoport reported yesterday that Case Keenum would not receive the franchise tag from the team.

The Vikings are still able to re-sign Bridgewater if the parties reach an agreement on terms of a contract before March 14th. At that point the Vikings would need to bid against other teams for Bridgewater’s services in free agency.