UPDATE 2: 8:20 p.m. ET, Tuesday
The Vikings have released the details on Bridgewater's knee injury. It includes a complete tear of his ACL and other structural damage.
Here is the full extent of the damage to #Vikings QB Teddy Bridgewater, who tore his ACL, has a dislocated knee, etc pic.twitter.com/Gti0YGOYLk
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 31, 2016
As noted below and in Rapoport's tweet, that includes a dislocated knee. That's far from ideal, but he did manage to avoid nerve damage. He's facing a year-long rehab stint, and there's a chance Bridgewater won't be ready for the start of next season.
UPDATE 1 : 6:55 p.m. ET, Tuesday
The ambulance call for Teddy Bridgewater lists "dislocated knee" as the injury.
Call from Winter Park for Teddy Bridgewater came in as "dislocated knee": https://t.co/VeDa0EiYfZ
— Colleen Kelly (@onecolleen) August 30, 2016
While that might not end up be the exact injury, it's not a promising sign. A full-fledged dislocated knee is one of the most devastating injuries an NFL player can suffer, and it is usually paired with some torn ligaments. It's about as close to a worse-case scenario as there is, although Bridgewater's could have been worse. It's the type of injury that Marcus Lattimore suffered when he was at South Carolina.
Original Story Below:
Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer announced at a press conference that quarterback Teddy Bridgewater suffered a "significant" knee injury and that it doesn't look good for him playing this season, reports Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
Mike Zimmer says Teddy knee injury is significant but doesn't not full details
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) August 30, 2016
Mike Zimmer said it's possible it's a season ending injury
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) August 30, 2016
Mike Zimmer said doesn't look good about Teddy playing this year
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) August 30, 2016
Mike Zimmer says Teddy is undergoing an MRI now and he's sedated. Won't say where he is hospital wise.
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) August 30, 2016
Bridgewater appeared to have suffered the injury during a non-contact drill just 25 minutes into practice on Tuesday, and coaches decided to cancel practice after the injury occurred. Brian Murphy of the Pioneer Press also described the scene in greater detail:
Bad scene. Bridgewater down in pocket grabbing left knee. Players freaked out, swearing and praying. Immobilized. Practice halted #Vikings
— Brian Murphy (@murphPPress) August 30, 2016
You could hear a pin drop on field as Bridgewater was tended do on ground -- silence only broken by several F-bombs players screamed#Vikings
— Brian Murphy (@murphPPress) August 30, 2016
Ambulance presumably taking Teddy Bridgewater to hospital #vikings pic.twitter.com/4Wl1N2ua9i
— Brian Murphy (@murphPPress) August 30, 2016
Shaun Hill, the Vikings' backup quarterback, will take over as the starter, but Minnesota has very little depth behind him. The only other quarterback on the roster is undrafted rookie Joel Stave, who was a long shot to make the team.
As a result, expect the Vikings to explore the possibility to brining in a veteran free agent quarterback.
Bridgewater helped guide the Vikings to the NFC North title in just his second season in the NFL, passing for 3,231 yards, 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions last season.
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