Mankato – Throughout his time in Minnesota, Teddy Bridgewater has repeatedly executed a trick play, proving more likable than accessible, eliciting affection without offering many glimpses of his soul.
You could see his personality billowing like laughing gas through the Vikings locker room on Friday afternoons, when players lounged and joked. Bridgewater would often be the one standing in the middle of what looked like a comedy club, more performer than patron.
He saved that side of himself for teammates, with the exception of one conversation we had during his second training camp. That day we walked from practice into the Vikings facility in Mankato and he talked of his love of his mother and music. He even danced a two-step, a rare moment of engaging silliness for an NFL franchise quarterback.
And that's what he was, a franchise quarterback. Not a star, but not a finished sculpture, either. In his second year in the league, he helped the Vikings to an 11-5 record and completed 71 percent of his passes against a nasty Seattle defense in freezing temperatures in the playoffs, leading the Vikings on what should have been a game-winning drive until ... well, you know.
A few months later Bridgewater planted his left foot during practice and his knee exploded. Thursday, 11 months after that injury threatened first his leg and then his career, Bridgewater finally spoke publicly about that day.
There is some mystery as to why this took 11 months. Bridgewater is smooth. He can handle a news conference.
And he executed a verbal version of the two-step on Thursday. Without offering much in the way of detail, he sounded determined and philosophical. He looked bigger through the shoulders and chest and it was good to see him behind a podium, where he belongs once or twice a week every fall.
But we shouldn't get used to this. He may never take another meaningful snap for the Vikings. He may not play again anywhere.
