TEDDY READY?
QB cryptic on health of knee
That’s something I’m not comfortable talking about right now. I’m pretty sure that’ll be a discussion that I have with the training staff. We’ll come up with a plan moving forward. TEDDY BRIDGEWATER ON HIS HEALTH
Teddy Bridgewater might have signed with the Jets, but the former Vikings quarterback is far from guaranteed a Week 1 roster spot.
Bridgewater, who suffered a grievous knee injury (torn ACL/dislocation) in August 2016 that kept him shelved for the better part of two seasons, wouldn’t divulge if he’d be healthy enough to participate fully in spring practices.
“That’s something I’m not comfortable talking about right now,” Bridgewater said on a conference call Wednesday. “I’m pretty sure that’ll be a discussion that I have with the training staff. We’ll come up with a plan moving forward.”
The 25-year-old Bridgewater, whose one-year, $6 million deal only includes $500,000 guaranteed, appears to be in a precarious position between veteran Josh McCown and the incoming hot-shot rookie signal caller whom the Jets will draft in a few weeks.
“I’m very confident,” Bridgewater said. “I’m confident in myself. I’m confident in the athletic training staff and the coaching staff here that they can eventually get me back to the player that I once was… But we’re only in March. The only way to get better is put the work in now. … I just can’t wait. I’m excited.”
“Being a quarterback, being an athlete, the ultimate competitor… I welcome the competition,” he later added. “It not only makes you better, but it makes the team better.”
Although Bridgewater admitted that “there was never any doubt in my mind that I wouldn’t get to that point” to return to the field and that he’s “very eager” to become a starter again, there are fair questions about how his knee will hold up. He took a few snaps and only attempted two passes in one game late last season. “I’m not going to give a percentage,” Bridgewater said about how healthy his knee is right now. “But I do believe that I’m capable of performing at a high level.”
Bridgewater has the pedigree (first-round pick) and experience (17-12 as a starter with one playoff appearance in his first two seasons), but will he even have a chance to return to pre-injury form with the Jets?
“It isn’t about proving to the people who counted you out or doubted you,” Bridgewater said. “It’s about proving to the people who believed in you… showing them that your prayers and your belief, it all paid off.”