Teddy Bridgewater’s contract situation with the Minnesota Vikings had the potential to get very sticky this offseason, but apparently the team is not planning to make life difficult for its former first-round pick.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports that Bridgewater is expected to become a free agent.
With the March looming and some murkiness around #Vikings QB Teddy Bridgewater’s contract, he is expected to be a free agent, sources say. Minnesota is not planning to assert that his contract tolls and Bridgewater is proceeding as if he’s a free agent.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 27, 2018
Bridgewater began the season on the physically unable to perform list, as he was still recovering from the devastating knee injury that forced him to miss the entire 2016 season. Since he was not on the active roster by Week 7, the Vikings could have argued that the final year of his contract should toll. However, Bridgewater said publicly that he was ready to play before the team activated him, and he could have filed a grievance claiming that the team chose to keep him inactive even though he was cleared by doctors.
There’s still a chance the Vikings could bring Bridgewater back, but it sounds as though they are not planning to use the franchise tag on him or Case Keenum. Reports have indicated that Minnesota is eyeing a much bigger fish on the free agent market and has little interest in re-signing any of its three quarterbacks from 2017.
