PITTSBURGH – There is perhaps no job title in Minnesota sports that functions as a barometer of both hope and anguish quite like quarterback of the Vikings. Through a 138-hour stretch from last Monday evening in Minneapolis to Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh, Vikings fans experienced all of it.
It began when Sam Bradford threw for 344 yards and three scores in a scintillating season opener against the New Orleans Saints, outplaying Drew Brees and reducing Adrian Peterson to a sideshow in his return to U.S. Bank Stadium.
Six days later, in a 26-9 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in which Case Keenum was the emergency starter in place of injured Bradford, the 2017 Vikings became the third team in Mike Zimmer's four years as coach to use two different starting quarterbacks before the end of September. And if Bradford's left knee issues linger for any sizable stretch of the season, the Vikings could be headed for trouble.
Zimmer would not discuss Bradford's injury, other than to attribute it to swelling from the ACL repairs he had done in 2013 and 2014. "He's had two surgeries on his knee; sometimes it swells up," Zimmer said.
When asked about Bradford's status moving forward, Zimmer said, "Sam's going to be OK."
Asked what that meant, he said, "I'm not going to discuss it with you. He's going to be OK, OK? Sam will be the quarterback; it's going to be OK.
"Maybe the next week, maybe six weeks from now, he's going to be OK. It's a nonsurgical issue. He'll be fine."
After only one game without him, it's clear the team might not be if his absence is prolonged.
The Vikings were humbled on offense, gaining only 237 yards with Case Keenum at quarterback, punting on six drives and turning the ball over twice more on downs, before their day ended with an Adam Thielen fumble as the receiver tried to stretch for a first down.