Bradford or Bridgewater? Vikings might not decide until 2019
A year ago Wednesday, Teddy Bridgewater collapsed on the grass practice field at Winter Park, lying on his back with a left knee so mangled that it ended his season, potentially this one too, and threatened the career of a 23-year-old rising star who carried hopes of ending the Vikings’ Super Bowl drought.
It was a day that immediately altered general manager Rick Spielman’s vision, which had finally neared fruition behind a tenacious defense, a future Hall of Fame running back and an improving young quarterback who had nearly led the Vikings to their first playoff win since Brett Favre was under center seven years earlier.
Now, a year later, so much has changed. The defense remains stout, though disturbingly vulnerable at times last season. The future Hall of Fame running back is gone, playing now in New Orleans. And the young quarterback is rehabbing as best he can, throwing passes at team activities but still listed officially as physically unable to perform.
http://www.twincities.com/2017/08/25/bradford-or-bridgewater-vikings-might-not-decide-until-2019/
Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger!
@"Sir Viking Bob VWO" said:I'm speculating a strong 2017 by Bradford; if that happens, he's the team's QB.@"Jor-El" said: My hunch:Isn't Teddy his QB as well? He drafted him. I don't think Teddy will leave as an UFA. I would bet the team would tag him and trade one of them
- Bradford will play very well this year and get a long-term deal from the Vikings - maybe before the end of this season. I don't see Spielman letting his QB get near free agency or doing the Kirk Cousins franchise tag dance.
- Bridgewater will challenge the contract tolling, and I think he will win. He'll leave as a UFA next March.
IMO the Vikings lost Bridgewater when they declined his 5th-year-option. The NFLPA will fight tolling damn hard, the precedent is dangerous for players.
@"Jor-El" said:@"Sir Viking Bob VWO" said:I'm speculating a strong 2017 by Bradford; if that happens, he's the team's QB.@"Jor-El" said: My hunch:Isn't Teddy his QB as well? He drafted him. I don't think Teddy will leave as an UFA. I would bet the team would tag him and trade one of them
- Bradford will play very well this year and get a long-term deal from the Vikings - maybe before the end of this season. I don't see Spielman letting his QB get near free agency or doing the Kirk Cousins franchise tag dance.
- Bridgewater will challenge the contract tolling, and I think he will win. He'll leave as a UFA next March.
IMO the Vikings lost Bridgewater when they declined his 5th-year-option. The NFLPA will fight tolling damn hard, the precedent is dangerous for players.
fight it all they want, they agreed to it in the CBA and they will lose.DeMaurice Smith is campaigning for his job so he will likely want some sort of major win to be able to wave to the players, however if he picked this to be his banner battle and loses (which he should) that might really reflect poorly on his tenure at election time. after negotiating and agreeing to a 10 year CBA when the league was in a rapid accent in revenue he is looking the fool to many right now IMO. especially since he has come out and said that there will likely be a lockout in 2021 already. ive heard a few interviews with him, not sure how he got the job but he really sounds like a man with a death sentence pleading for a stay.
@"JimmyinSD" said:@"Jor-El" said:@"Sir Viking Bob VWO" said:I'm speculating a strong 2017 by Bradford; if that happens, he's the team's QB.@"Jor-El" said: My hunch:Isn't Teddy his QB as well? He drafted him. I don't think Teddy will leave as an UFA. I would bet the team would tag him and trade one of them
- Bradford will play very well this year and get a long-term deal from the Vikings - maybe before the end of this season. I don't see Spielman letting his QB get near free agency or doing the Kirk Cousins franchise tag dance.
- Bridgewater will challenge the contract tolling, and I think he will win. He'll leave as a UFA next March.
IMO the Vikings lost Bridgewater when they declined his 5th-year-option. The NFLPA will fight tolling damn hard, the precedent is dangerous for players.
fight it all they want, they agreed to it in the CBA and they will lose.DeMaurice Smith is campaigning for his job so he will likely want some sort of major win to be able to wave to the players, however if he picked this to be his banner battle and loses (which he should) that might really reflect poorly on his tenure at election time. after negotiating and agreeing to a 10 year CBA when the league was in a rapid accent in revenue he is looking the fool to many right now IMO. especially since he has come out and said that there will likely be a lockout in 2021 already. ive heard a few interviews with him, not sure how he got the job but he really sounds like a man with a death sentence pleading for a stay.
I don't know...just my hunch, as I said. It's in the CBA and yes, it reads as if the Vikings win if Teddy is still on PUP by game 6. But no other team has tried to toll a contract like this, and players will hate it and be furious at Smith if he doesn't fight it.The likely argument Bridgewater and his agent will make is that he could play by week 6. All of his social media displays are trying to establish that argument. If they get 1 doctor to assert he is healthy on October 15, it's a he-said/she-said argument in court, and Vikings are in the position of battling a very sympathetic and popular player: Look at the big bad corporate team trying to keep poor little Teddy Bear from getting a nice contract so he can take care of his cancer survivor Mom...hey, if the team doctors know so much, let's discuss why they put him out on the practice field after he hurt his knee in a preseason game and risked his life...
It will be interesting to see how it plays out but I think that's a messy fight and the Vikings will avoid it. Put a transition or franchise tag on Bridgewater to trade him? According to Adam Schefter, "the transition tag after this season for Kirk Cousins will be $28,732,320, the franchise tag $34,478,784". No team will trade for unproven Bridgewater and pay him $28-$34M for one season.
Fans (and maybe Spielman) want to believe that if we lose Bridgewater we will recoup at least some of the draft picks needed to replace him with Bradford - that his injury will ultimately have little cost in overall draft capital. But it's unlikely to work that way...injuries have cost. If Bridgewater leaves in free agency the NFL will award a pretty good comp pick, maybe even a 3rd-rounder, and that might be the best we can get.
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