Vikings 2017: Waiting for Teddy

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The Minnesota Vikings, carrying a 6-2 record as leaders of the NFL's NFC North division, are currently on the horns of another quarterback dilemma.

It started out like this:  Teddy Bridgewater was supposed to be this Quarterback of the Future who would end the Vikings' revolving door at that position, until a freak off-the-field injury sidelined him for the 2016 season.  Then Sam Bradford came in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles for draft picks, and he did pretty well.  But after one game this season, Bradford tore up his knee.  Enter backup Case Keenum, who has done surprisingly well this season.  But nobody believes he's the Vikings' long term solution.

Now Bridgewater has been deemed healthy enough to play again, a season and a half after his devastating injury.  He has been assigned backup duties to Keenum, while Bradford has been put on injured reserve.  Which begs the question:  After being out of action for so long, is it reasonable to expect Bridgewater to be anywhere near the player he was before his injury?  Or will the Vikings have to go out and draft another quarterback?  The only way to know, of course, is when he gets out on the field.

Otherwise, the defense is one of the best in the NFL if you don't count the points they've given up.  Nobody is talking about the offensive line, which must be a good thing given the overhaul they've had.  And no one seems to miss Adrian Peterson, now that he's moved on to the Arizona Cardinals after his ugly departure from New Orleans.

The Vikings are division leaders for two reasons:  (A)  They played a mostly powder puff schedule against mediocre teams like the Chicago Bears, Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns.  They have lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Detroit Lions, which could pose a problem down the stretch, and (B) the absence of Aaron Rodgers, whose broken collarbone injury has reduced the Green Bay Packers from Super Bowl contenders to also-rans.

No matter who the quarterback is, it's going to be tough to say whether the Vikings are playoff material or what.  Maybe they'll win the division, but only if the Lions or Packers don't throw challenges.  Maybe they'll be in the wild card, but only if they win at least half of their remaining games.  They have a lot more questions this season while waiting to see if Teddy Bridgewater can still play.