Sam Bradford‘s mandated two months on IR are just about up, and the Vikings expect their Week 1 starting quarterback to return to practice next week, Mike Zimmer said (via Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com).
While Zimmer is unsure if Bradford would be available during the playoffs, the Vikings would be able to activate him. Zimmer said Bradford told him his injured left knee feels good, and the fourth-year Vikings HC added (via Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press) his initial 2017 starter has been throwing recently.
Bradford has not played since Week 5 and has only suited up for two games this season. He would be eligible for reactivation by the time the Vikings begin their playoff slate. But this would obviously require the eighth-year veteran to show he’s healthy enough to suit up again, which may be a lot to ask given how his season’s unfolded.
Case Keenum took over for Bradford midway through an October win in Chicago and has put to rest any quarterback controversy that emerged for a team that has two former first-round picks under contract. Bradford, like Keenum and Teddy Bridgewater, will see his Vikings contract expire at season’s end.
Bradford’s experienced knee trouble throughout his career but was considered the Vikings’ preferred starter until around midseason, when Keenum started to thrive as a legitimately viable option rather than the career backup he’d profiled as prior to 2017. Bradford experienced knee pain prior to Week 2 and was a last-minute scratch. He missed the next two Minnesota games before returning at far less than 100 percent during a victory over the Bears, after which the Vikes shut him down.
He’s thrown just 43 passes this season, a year after playing in 15 games — his most since 2012 — and setting the NFL’s completion percentage standard at 71.6 percent.
While the 30-year-old quarterback wouldn’t be expected to earn his job back, his dominant Week 1 performance in a win over the Saints notwithstanding, it would provide possible insurance. However, Bridgewater has been Keenum’s backup since being activated. So, it’s unclear how the pecking order would end up in a rare scenario where all three of Minnesota’s quarterbacks are active.