Minnesota Vikings GM: Bridgewater will be ‘something special’
By Adam Carlson
The general manager of the Minnesota Vikings Rick Spielman believes that young quarterback Teddy Bridgewater will be ‘something special’ down the road.
The Minnesota Vikings were patient when looking for a quarterback in the 2014 NFL Draft. While many fans and experts expected the team to select either Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel or Louisville’s Teddy Bridgewater with the team’s #9 overall selection, the name of UCLA linebacker Anthony Barr was called instead.
As the draft continued, those two quarterbacks continued to drop. The Cleveland Browns traded up to the number 22 spot and grabbed Manziel, leaving the Vikings with their second round draft pick and still having a hole for a young quarterback on their roster. When the World Champion Seattle Seahawks were on the clock, the Minnesota Vikings were able to work out a trade to move up and take the number 32 pick of the first round. With that pick, they were able to get Bridgewater.
Minnesota has always shown the utmost support for Bridgewater. Even though he was expected to sit for his rookie year behind Matt Cassel, the young quarterback had to step in and help his team win without the services of former NFL MVP running back Adrian Peterson.
Now, after two seasons with the team, Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman has been able to evaluate his decision to draft Teddy Bridgewater. Recently, Spielman did an interview on Sirius XM NFL Radio where he discussed the quarterback. Here is the audio of that conversation.
One of the most interesting parts of the conversation was when Spielman talked about the things he loves from his team’s starting quarterback:
"“Teddy, he’s just so calm. Through the ups and downs and as he’s growing as a young quarterback, his demeanor never changes. The one thing that I know: He’s always the first one in the building and the last one to leave the building, and that resonates down through that locker room. And all those guys see that.”"
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The positives surround Bridgewater are plenty, but there are still parts of his game that need to be improved. He has been holding the ball too long in the pocket and has struggled to connect with his wide receivers on deep passes. However, that isn’t enough to stop the team’s general manager from thinking that this kid can do good things at quarterback.
"“I think the key to that position is showing your teammates that you’re willing to do everything you can to give them the best chance to win. I know our team and our coaches and myself believe that this kid is going to be something special down the road here.”"
The jury is still out when it comes to figuring out in Bridgewater can put it all together and become a bigger offensive threat for the Vikings, but each season there has been enough reason to be encouraged by his play.
Related Story: Minnesota Vikings players divided in 2016 Pro Bowl
You can see Teddy Bridgewater along with 4 other Minnesota Vikings players in the 2016 Pro Bowl on Sunday, January 31, 2016. Bridgewater is also expected to return as the Vikings starting quarterback for the 2016 NFL season.