Teddy Bridgewater was in the process blossoming into perennial Pro-Bowl quarterback Brady to take his Vikings to the next level after a blunder forced an early playoff exit in 2015.
Those hopes all but came to a halt today when the QB went down with what was reported as a “gruesome” knee injury. Suffered without contact, the injury was off-the-bat deemed serious, so much so that players reportedly vomited and were so distraught the rest of practice was cancelled.
Bridgewater was taken to the local hospital for treatment and an MRI, where it revealed he has suffered a complete tear of the ACL with surrounding structural damage. A disclosed knee was too diagnosed on the practice field prior to the MRI. The good news if there’s such thing in this situation – there is no nerve or arterial damage.
The Vikings Director of Sports Medicine and Head Athletic Trainer Eric Sugarcane released a statement on the matter –
Teddy Bridgewater suffered a non-contact injury today at practice. The injury was quickly identified as a dislocated knee. The injury was stabilized, and he was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment and evaluation. After undergoing an MRI, it was determined that Teddy suffered a complete tear to his ACL and other structural damage. Fortunately, there appears to be no nerve or arterial damage. Surgical repair will be scheduled within the next few days. Although the recovery time will be significant, we expect Teddy to make a full recovery. I would like to thank all of the medical professionals and our athletic training staff for all of their help today. Teddy has already displayed the attitude needed to overcome this injury and attack his rehab.
The injury rules Bridgewater out for all of the upcoming 2016-2017 season, joining the long list of players already ruled out before it even started due to serious injuries sustained in practice or preseason action.
