The Minnesota Vikings quarterback is with the team in London and has continued to take reps with the first team in practice since his removal from the PUP list last week.
During his Friday press conference, Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer was asked by one reporter (who sounded an awful lot like Arif Hasan) if he had decided who the starting quarterback would be for Sunday’s matchup with the Cleveland Browns. Zimmer left his answer short and sweet.
"“Yes, Case Keenum.”"
It was a response that was likely anticipated by 99.5 percent of the Vikings’ fanbase. But still, those who were hoping for Teddy Bridgewater to make his miraculous return to the starting lineup this week probably felt a little deflated after hearing Zimmer’s decision.
However, just because Bridgewater is not starting under center, does not mean that the quarterback will be inactive for Sunday’s game.
It is expected by many that Bridgewater will be among Minnesota’s inactives against the Browns. But it seems odd for the team to even have the quarterback take reps in practice with the first-team offense (which he has continued to do this week) if they are not going activate him on Sunday.
As much as rookie backup Kyle Sloter seems to get some Vikings fans giddy whenever his name is brought up (still not sure why), he clearly is not the best option as the team’s second-string quarterback when it’s between him and Bridgewater.
Minnesota Vikings
But what about Teddy’s knee? It will probably explode again if he falls on a slippery field or an opposing player pushes him out of bounds, right?
Let’s just get this out of the way. Bridgewater was likely healthy enough to play in an actual game last week,
Minnesota is probably just giving him some time to get adjusted to going through the playbook with his actual teammates on the field rather than him just calling plays off to the side like he’s a kid in a backyard playing football with all his imaginary friends.
If the Vikings really believe that he is not healthy enough to play this season, then they wouldn’t have taken him off of the Physically Unable to Perform list. Both Bridgewater and Zimmer have expressed their beliefs in the recent past that the quarterback will likely be playing at sometime this season.
Next: Predictions for the Vikings' matchup with the Browns
Whether or not that happens this week against Cleveland remains to be seen. Just don’t be surprised if the quarterback actually is part of the active, in-game roster on Sunday for the first time since the 2016 preseason.