It has been well over a year since Teddy Bridgewater suffered a devastating knee injury that cost him the better part of the past two seasons, but the quarterback was cleared by doctors with the Minnesota Vikings and passed his physical with the New York Jets. Still, he is not willing to declare himself fully healthy.
In a conference call with reporters on Wednesday, Bridgewater was asked if he envisions having any limitations when spring practices begin. He stopped short of saying his knee injury is a thing of the past.
“That’s something I’m not comfortable talking about right now,” Bridgewater said, via Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. “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.”
As Mehta notes, Bridgewater is not a lock to make the Jets’ final roster. He signed a one-year, $6 million deal that includes just $500,000 guaranteed, and New York also re-signed Josh McCown and has traded up to the No. 3 overall pick in the draft — presumably to draft a quarterback. Despite that, Bridgewater said he still has full confidence in his abilities and “can’t wait” to get to work.
When asked outright if his knee is 100 percent healthy, Bridgewater would not say.
“I’m not going to give a percentage,” he replied. “But I do believe that I’m capable of performing at a high level.”
Bridgewater is just 25 and a former first-round pick, but you can understand the uncertainty surrounding him. Given that he signed with the Jets for only $500,000 guaranteed, it seems like some previous reports we heard about him may have been exaggerated.
