MINNEAPOLIS -- The injury that changed the course of the Minnesota Vikings' future -- the torn ACL and dislocated left knee Teddy Bridgewater suffered on Aug. 30 -- triggered its first major aftershock several days later, when the Vikings sent their 2017 first-round pick and a 2018 fourth-rounder to the Philadelphia Eagles for Sam Bradford. But there are several rounds of reverberations still to come from Bridgewater's injury.
We're here today to talk about what might seem like a relatively minor corollary to the injury, given the big questions that remain open (Bridgewater's long-term health, Bradford's future, the Vikings' 2017 draft strategy without a first-round pick, etc.). While it doesn't create as many splashy headlines as those other topics, Bridgewater's injury does contribute to another reality: The Vikings, in all likelihood, need a backup quarterback for 2017.
Shaun Hill will be a free agent in March, after turning 37 in January. Taylor Heinicke had a chance to compete for the No. 2 job in training camp, until he severed a tendon in his left foot last summer and was limited to scout-team snaps once he returned during the middle of the regular season. Bridgewater, who is due to make $2.18 million this season, might need at least part of the regular season to continue his rehab and could start the year on the PUP list. And the fact the Vikings already have $20.8 million in cap space committed to quarterbacks -- more than the Seattle Seahawks, Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants, and only $713,000 less than the Green Bay Packers -- they're not going to be able to spend big on a backup.
So what should they do? Heinicke certainly has his supporters within the organization, but the fact he's never thrown a pass in a regular-season game makes it unlikely the Vikings will go into the year with him as their only healthy option behind Bradford. Hill would be affordable enough to re-sign, but if the Vikings wanted to look for a younger player, they'd probably be sifting through names like Mark Sanchez, Ryan Mallett (in whom they've been believed to have interest in the past), Geno Smith and Matt McGloin. Depending on how the market shakes out, the likes of Mike Glennon or Brian Hoyer might wind up on the pricier side.
There's a school of thought that it always makes sense to draft a quarterback, and the Vikings could look to spend a pick sometime in April on another young passer. That could be a prudent course of action, but it wouldn't give the Vikings a prudent option. They could look to fill that spot on their roster with a free agent pickup, possibly after teams have spent their initial wave of money, but the Vikings will, in all likelihood, consider their choices at the position.
Had Bridgewater's catastrophic injury not happened and Heinicke not injured his foot, the Vikings could be headed into 2017 with one more year of affordable quarterback play and a developing backup whose skill set mirrored the starter's to some degree. Instead, the Vikings have to figure out what will work behind Bradford, and they'll have to do so within the framework of a position cost that's already above the league average. It's the way life is on another detour forced by the Bridgewater injury, and the Vikings will have to navigate it heading into 2017.
