The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Bridgewater confident about resuming career
When Teddy Bridgewater signed with the Jets last week, he arrived with more questions than answers. We don’t know where he’ll fit in the quarterback rotation. We don’t know how he’ll look on the practice field this spring, or how much he’ll do. We don’t even know if he’ll be on the Week 1 roster.
But at the stem of all the little questions, there is one big question.
Can Bridgewater ever get back to the level he was at before his devastating knee injury?
“I’m very confident,” Bridgewater said Wednesday on a conference call. “I’m confident in myself, 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.”
Bridgewater dislocated his knee and tore his ACL on a non-contact injury during practice in August 2016.
He has not started a game in the two seasons since and after being cleared to play for the Vikings last October, he threw only two passes last season.
Bridgewater said there was “never any doubt in my mind” that he’d return to the field after the injury. But there certainly is uncertainty about what comes next.
The 2015 Pro Bowler signed a one-year, prove-it deal with the Jets last week.
The contract works for both sides, it gives Bridgewater a chance to show what he’s got, a chance to potentially earn up to $15 million.
But the Jets are only on the hook for $500,000 guaranteed if Bridgewater doesn’t look like he can contribute.
Bridgewater strongly believes he can play at a high level again. He believes the gamble on himself will pay off.
“I’m a very confident guy,” he said. “I believe in myself. I believe in the skills that I was blessed with. And I’ll just leave it at that.
But the 25-year-old wouldn’t rate the health of his surgically repaired knee other than to see he’s “feeling good.”
“I’m not going to give a percentage or anything,” he said. “But I do believe that I’m capable of performing at a high level.”
Bridgewater presumably will be able to participate in the Jets’ spring offseason program.
He was healthy enough to make an appearance for the Vikings last fall and passed a physical before signing with the Jets.
But Bridgewater wouldn’t say if he’d be on the field for organized team activities and minicamp.
“That’s something that I’m not comfortable talking about right now,” he said. “I’m pretty sure that’s a discussion that I’ll have with the training staff and we’ll come up with a plan moving forward.”
The Jets quarterback situation is fluid and it’s unclear where Bridgewater fits in. Josh McCown returns and will be the favorite to win the starting job.
The Jets will almost certainly draft a quarterback with the No. 3 overall pick. But Bridgewater said he’s just fine with the situation.
Bridgewater is looking forward to his opportunity. He’s confident it will come. But he knows there’s a long way to go.
“We’re only in March,” Bridgewater said. “And the only way to get better is to put the work in now and I’m excited about this opportunity that I have to not only be a Jet but to work with the group of guys on this team, with the staff that’s here. I just can’t wait. I’m excited.”