Reports: Teddy Bridgewater cleared for practice, will return to Vikings roster

The NFC North lost its best quarterback on Sunday when Aaron Rodgers suffered a broken collarbone. Rodgers could potentially return before the season is through, but he’ll be out for at least a couple months.

But the NFC North may be getting a passer back that they haven’t seen in quite some time. It all started with a two-word tweet on Monday morning:

That enigmatic tweet comes from Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who is currently on the team’s Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list after suffering a brutal non-contact leg injury during training camp in 2016. The injury cost Bridgewater his entire 2016 season and had an expected recovery time of up to 18 months. Some wondered whether he’d ever play again.

But now players that were placed on PUP to start the season are eligible to return this week if they’re physically ready. Bridgewater’s tweet hinted that he may have gotten good news from the doctors.

There are several reports out there now saying that Bridgewater has been medically cleared for practice. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Bridgewater may return to the active roster as soon as this week:

As Rapoport hints at above, just because Bridgewater is cleared to practice with the team doesn’t mean that he’ll be ready to play right away. It has been 21 months since Bridgewater last recorded an NFL pass. The Vikings will almost certainly give him some time to get his feet back from underneath him.

In the meantime, the Vikings are 4-2 and atop the division. They are still dealing with a knee injury to Sam Bradford that has kept him out of all but six quarters of play this season, but Case Keenum has stepped in and played admirably (93.1 passer rating).

Still, this Bridgewater news changes everything for Minnesota. The Vikings may finally have their quarterback of the future back.