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EAGAN, Minn. – The impact of Teddy Bridgewater’s smile, his willingness to keep trying to stay in football after a devastating knee injury and his attitude about it could be seen in the Minnesota Vikings # 5 jersey collection in the crowd Wednesday at the Viking Suburban Complex in Minneapolis.
Bridgewater, plagued by a quarterback with the Denver Broncos these days, hasn’t played in a game for the Vikings since 2017. In the last two of his four seasons with the team, he hasn’t played in a game for the Vikings. was not the starter, but rather a player trying to see if he could get back onto the pitch.
However, there were young and old who mingled in the stands, wearing memories, a little “remember when” of his time with the team.
“I feel really emotional coming out of the weight room, I just did 5,000 crunches, man,” Bridgewater joked after a post-workout workout. “No, it’s great to be back here.… It was cool to see. I saw a few little kids wearing # 5 swimsuits, and it was pretty cool to see.”
The Broncos and Vikings will have the second of two joint practices on Thursday, before the preseason opener Saturday night for both teams. But the week has a little more emotion for Bridgewater than he maybe even anticipated.
After a Pro Bowl season as the 23-year-old Vikings starting quarterback in 2015, he came through training camp in 2016 with many high expectations of the team’s 11-5 ending. last year. But on August 20, 2016, in a largely non-contact practice, Bridgewater suffered an ACL tear and left knee dislocation.
His surgeon, Dan Cooper, the Dallas Cowboys’ team doctor, had publicly called it a “horribly grotesque injury” that looked like a “war wound.” Over the next two years, Bridgewater would play in one game for a total of nine snaps.
“I found myself thinking about it more recently than in the past,” Bridgewater said on Wednesday. “About the day I got hurt and up to this point. Because I use it as motivation now. I used to push it back like, man, it happened, keep going. . Now it’s like, man, here I am where I could’ve been counted. I almost had to have my leg amputated and things like that, and it’s like when I wake up in the morning, I’m blessed. I have the opportunity to put my feet on the ground and come out here and play soccer, a game that I love to play. So I’m having so much fun playing this game now, more fun than ever, more I think about what I’ve been through here. “
The Broncos traded to Bridgewater the day before the April draft opens because first-year general manager George Paton, who spent 14 years with the Vikings, including Bridgewater’s four years with the team, believed that his acquisition was a win-win situation: that Bridgewater would be good enough for the Broncos to win games with if he won the job, but also a team-focused enough player to help Drew Lock along the way if he did. did not.
“I really enjoyed spending time with Teddy,” Lock said after practice Wednesday.
He added: “He’s always ready to help, always has a smile on his face.… He’s just a fun, energetic guy to be around.”
Bridgewater had said last week he didn’t believe he would feel so much emotion about a return to Minnesota when the Broncos arrived for practice as well as a preseason game. But it was a little different on Wednesday.
After hearing cheers and seeing some of the younger fans, wearing his jersey from a former footballer’s life, waving, trying to get his attention, Bridgewater said it made him think about how he had changed from the player – and the person – he was before the injury to now as he tries to win the starting position with the Broncos.
“The most important thing to take away from my spots is that I learned that I am a survivor,” Bridgewater said. “No matter the circumstances, no matter the situation, how are you going to survive? You can lie down and be eaten alive or survive and keep hunting. That’s my state of mind.”
He added: “[Vikings fans] welcomed a boy who turned into a man, and they were so genuine here and I appreciate it, still to this day. I think that’s all it is, folks here, cool Minnesota, I just appreciate the support I always get. “
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