NFL teams
Ben Goessling, ESPN Staff Writer 8y

Teddy Bridgewater back practicing for Vikings

NFL, Minnesota Vikings

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater resumed throwing in practice Tuesday, for the first time since he missed last Thursday's game against the Seattle Seahawks. 

And while coach Mike Zimmer would not confirm ESPN's report that Bridgewater missed the game with a sore shoulder, he did say he will lean toward playing it safe with injured players, especially in the preseason.

"If he had an issue with his shoulder, I'm going to make sure I'm going to err on the side of caution," Zimmer said. "If I played him and he got hurt, you guys would be killing me in the press. I'm always going to protect the players, I'm going to do what I think is best for the organization, and you're going to have to respect that.

"A lot of times, it's up to the trainers and the doctors. I'm never going to put a player out on the field that can't protect himself, or is not healthy. A lot of times they'll say, 'Hey, yeah, I can go.' But I tell them, 'If you go out there and you get hurt in two plays, like what happened a couple times last year, it's hurting the team.' If you can go and play the game, you can play. But if the doctors tell me they can't do it, then they're not going to do it."

Two league sources told ESPN on Friday that Bridgewater could have played if it was the regular season, but the Vikings decided shortly before Thursday's game to sit him.

Bridgewater stuck mostly to checkdowns and throws over the middle in Tuesday's practice, with a long throw of about 15 yards that was intercepted by Harrison Smith.

As the Vikings eased Bridgewater back in, Zimmer said it's not imperative that the third-year quarterback plays again in the preseason, following two series of work in the team's exhibition opener Aug. 12.

"He's played an awful lot of games. It's not like he's a first-year rookie," Zimmer said. "He played (12) the first year, and 17 last year, so he's played (29) games or something like that. We're going to continue to do what we think is best."

Zimmer also said he has made a decision about whether running back Adrian Peterson will play in the preseason. He would not, however, discuss that choice publicly before the Vikings' first game at U.S. Bank Stadium -- their new $1.1 billion home -- on Sunday.

"It's not necessary. Why is it necessary?" Zimmer said.

When a reporter suggested that revealing the information wouldn't cost the Vikings any competitive advantage in a preseason game, Zimmer said, "Call (Chargers coach) Mike McCoy and ask him if they're not going to care. Just ask him. Call him. Ask him if he cares. I would. I think it's important.

"If they knew Adrian Peterson was playing in the backfield, I think they'd probably be having a lot of eight-man boxes and a lot of run blitzes and stacking the line of scrimmage."

When it was then suggested to Zimmer that the Vikings would want defenses to play Peterson the way they would in the regular season, giving him a chance to get some work before the team's opener Sept. 11, Zimmer said, "We'll see in the game."

^ Back to Top ^