Sam Bradford Inactive For Week 2; Teddy Bridgewater Could Return Midseason

Vikings QB Sam Bradford is officially inactive for today’s game against the Steelers, which means that backup Case Keenum will get the start in his stead. Kyle Sloter, who was promoted from Minnesota’s practice squad earlier this week, will serve as Keenum’s backup.

This is tough news for the Vikings, as Bradford was terrific in the team’s Week 1 victory over New Orleans and had seemingly established a strong rapport with top wideouts Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen. Bradford is dealing with swelling, pain, and discomfort in the same left knee that had been repaired for torn ACLs in 2013 and 2014, and while he was briefly on the field for warmups today, he did not stay for long and did not test his knee much, if at all (as Aditi Kinkhabwala of the NFL Network tweets). Although Keenum has a 9-7 record as a starter over the past three seasons, Minnesota needs Bradford if it wants to make a playoff push. Kinkhabwala does report (via Twitter) that the Vikings are hopeful that Bradford will return next week.

In some good news for the Vikings, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (video link) reports that Teddy Bridgewater will be ready to play by midseason. Bridgewater suffered a devastating knee injury last year and is currently on the PUP list, but his return could be a boon for Minnesota, particularly if Bradford struggles with his health.

It was not too long ago that Bridgewater was considered the quarterback of the future in Minnesota, but his knee injury precipitated the team’s trade for Bradford and led to questions about whether Bridgewater would even be able to continue his career. While it is impossible to predict if he will xhibit the same level of ability he did prior to the injury, at least he appears to be on the right track at the moment.