One of the biggest what-ifs in the history of the Minnesota Vikings will always be about how differently things could have been for the franchise if Teddy Bridgewater never suffered a serious knee injury prior to the start of the 2016 season.
Bridgewater appeared on "The Pivot Podcast" recently and shared some new details about the day he injured his knee and how he thinks might have actually suffered the start of the injury in a 2016 preseason game.
"We played the Chargers in . That was my first game playing in the new stadium, and I had a big third-down run. I juked the defender I think that's when I tore my ACL.
But the week went on, and I was like, 'Man, it's just camp legs. I'll be all right. Let me get through today.' And before practice, I was like, 'Man, something don't feel right. Behind the back of my knee, it just feels crazy or something.' But I was like, you know what, this is the last day I'm gonna practice . shut it down get ready for the regular season.
We went out to practice, and it was like a pass 37 buster solid protection, like, reverse out, fake to Adrian , the fullback Rhett Ellison comes across, blocks the D-end, and as I faked to Adrian, Rhett passed by, and once I put my foot in the ground, everything just snapped.
The entire bottom half of my leg was one way, and my foot was another way, and it was just dangling. In that moment, it was just like, 'Ahhh!' Like just screaming man, like, 'Ahhh, my leg!' And guys were throwing helmets and everything, man."
Former Minnesota Vikings QB Teddy Bridgewater knew he had a "long journey" ahead of him after 2016 knee injury
After describing everything that led up to his knee injury in 2016, Bridgewater also revealed when he knew his injury was something that was extremely serious.
"We got in the back of the ambulance, and I was talking to . I'm like, 'How's it look?' He's like, 'How's it feel?' I'm like, 'Man, this s**t hurt.' I'm like, 'Am I gonna play again?' He's like, 'Can you feel your foot?' And I'm like, 'Yeah, but the feeling's starting to go away.' And the way he yelled at the paramedics drivers, that told me something serious.
We got to the hospital and found out I had dislocated my knee. They put it back in place, but I knew I still had surgery I had a long journey to go. But man, that was one of those days where if you were there, it was like, man, this is bad."
It's been over eight years since the injury occurred and this is, by far, the most detailed description of what happened that has been shared with the public. To find out that Bridgewater believes he tore his ACL in a preseason game just days before dislocating his knee might be the most surprising part of everything that he shared during his interview.
Had he not suffered his serious knee injury in 2016, there's a good chance that he would have gone on to remain Minnesota's starting quarterback for the next handful of seasons. The Vikings definitely would not have signed Kirk Cousins in free agency in 2018, and perhaps Mike Zimmer might have been able to lead the team to its first Super Bowl appearance since 1976.
But those are questions we will never get answers to, and instead, Minnesota fans just have to continue to explain to younger members of the fan base that Bridgewater was on a path to becoming the franchise's next great quarterback, despite the underwhelming stats he put up in his first two years with the team.