Teddy Bridgewater isn’t supposed to be here — not facing Vikings or playing this well

Teddy Bridgewater was supposed to be on the other sideline today.

The snaps from Garrett Bradbury were supposed to land in his hands.

A lifetime Super Bowl championship drought — now 44 years without an NFC title — and decades upon decades upon decades of heartbreak in Minneapolis were supposed to end with his arm, his instinct, when the Vikings drafted him 32nd overall in 2014.

Then again, after everything that happened to his knee, he’s not supposed to still have an NFL career. Not at this level, anyway.

When Bridgewater shattered the ligaments in his left knee on Aug. 30, 2016, doctors feared his leg might have to be amputated.

“We went back and looked at the history of people who had had that injury,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said of Bridgewater. “There wasn’t very many of them.

“Is he going to come back and be a career NFL player — because no one has ever done this before? I think there was one basketball player that came back from it, and it took him 24 months.”

Bridgewater defied all odds when he came back from that knee injury about 16 months later. And now, more than four years after the initial incident, Bridgewater is set to face the team where it happened, when the Panthers take on the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday.

Teddy Bridgewater knows how to win

Former Vikings offensive coordinator Norv Turner, who was also briefly the offensive coordinator at Carolina, remembers exactly where he was when Bridgewater suffered the freak injury. He was where he always was — “standing 10 to 12 yards behind the line of scrimmage” as the offense ran a play in an otherwise light practice.

Bridgewater dropped back to pass in a normal fashion and his knee collapsed.

“It was as tough injury as I’ve been around in all my years coaching,” Turner recalled.

The injury was so devastating that the Vikings canceled practice as Bridgewater was transported to the hospital.

It has been more than four years since that day, and although Bridgewater tries not to think of it, it’s a constant reminder of how far he has come in his seven years in the NFL.

Before suffering the injury, Bridgewater had just made the 2016 Pro Bowl roster. His team had made the playoffs that year, too, and he was becoming the face of the franchise the Vikings had always meant him to be. Turner said he thought Bridgewater was in for a big season.

“Some people, maybe they don’t appreciate the way he plays, but he knows how to win,” Turner said. “All the things were starting to come together. We had a chance to do some good things offensively.”

But when Bridgewater suffered the knee injury, everything came to a halt. Bridgewater spent the next 1 1/2 years rehabbing. He lost his starting quarterback job — first to Sam Bradford and then Case Keenum — and had a brief stint with the Jets before moving on with New Orleans in 2018.

As the Panthers travel to face the Vikings on Sunday, it will be Bridgewater’s first time facing his former team as a starter for a different franchise.

But he doesn’t want to make Sunday’s game bigger than what it is.

Credit to Bridgewater

Carolina is 4-7, and likely won’t make the playoffs in Bridgewater’s first season with the Panthers.

But he’s setting up the foundation of what could be his long-term future in Carolina — and what could have been in Minnesota.

“I always thought he’d be the quarterback for my whole career,” said Vikings coach Mike Zimmer, who drafted Bridgewater out of Louisville.

Bridgewater has been one of the few bright spots in a Panthers season that has been otherwise forgettable. With running back Christian McCaffrey out injured in all but three games, he has had to do more to try to help the Panthers win.

In Week 9, the Panthers trailed by nine points in the fourth quarter to the Kansas City Chiefs. They were facing fourth-and-14, from the Chiefs’ 46-yard line, with about 13 minutes left, when Bridgewater made a play. With no receivers open, Bridgewater scrambled, and appeared short of the first down.

But instead of sliding, he dove to pick up the needed yardage to extend the Panthers’ drive and keep their upset hopes alive.

Bridgewater’s play, and that first-down run, went against logic of what doctors believed was possible from Bridgewater four years ago. Seeing him scramble like that was something the Vikings didn’t think Bridgewater would ever be able to do again.

“And for (Bridgewater) to come back, 16 months, and get into a ball game, and be able to continually get better, where he was able to play in New Orleans, and now Carolina, it’s just a credit to the kid,” Zimmer said.

Panthers coach Matt Rhule didn’t seem surprised when informed of Zimmer’s comments on Bridgewater. He said that speaks to Bridgewater’s faith and his support network.

“I think it took a lot of faith, both in himself, and things far greater than he, to get to where he is,” Rhule said. “And so, I’m sure he looks at every game and opportunity as a blessing.”

Charting his own path

As Bridgewater leads a Panthers team trying to chart a new path after the Ron Rivera-Cam Newton era, he’s also trying chart his own path. When the Panthers signed him to a three-year, $63-million deal this past offseason, the deal signaled a tryout phase.

So far so good.

Through the Panthers’ first 11 games this season, Bridgewater has played in all but one. He has completed 72.1% of his passes, which ranks No. 2 in the NFL. He also has passed for 2,552 yards, 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

If Bridgewater can continue to play well and elevate his game further, he could earn a future contract extension with the Panthers.

Zimmer, who remains the Vikings head coach, said the reason the Vikings did not extend Bridgewater’s contract in 2017, and allowed him to walk, was strictly based on medical advice. Zimmer believed in Bridgewater and the person he is, similar to how the Panthers currently do.

It’s why the Zimmer and Bridgewater have continued to keep in touch over the years since Bridgewater’s departure. The two wished each other luck earlier this year when they learned the Vikings and Panthers would be playing each other this season.

“I’m happy for Teddy because, No. 1, he deserves everything he gets,” Zimmer said. “He’s that kind of a person and worker and leader.”

Turner said the same.

He said he was excited when he was first learned Bridgewater was signing with Carolina, and he believes the quarterback can be a cornerstone for the franchise, similar to how he thought Bridgewater could be that for the Vikings in 2014.

“I think he’s shown them what he’s capable of doing,” Turner said. “As they continue to improve their personnel, their offensive line, their defense, I think he can be a quarterback that takes you a long way.”