Teddy Bridgewater to Play With Starters in Friday’s Preseason Opener

The Minnesota Vikings will take on the Oakland Raiders on Friday night at 8:00 p.m. ET. Matt Cassel will start the game at QB for the Vikings, but Teddy Bridgewater won’t have to wait long to make his NFL Debut. Head coach Mike Zimmer and Norv Turner have both said that they intend to leave the rest of the starters in when Bridgewater gets in the game.

Starters don’t usually play a whole lot in the first preseason game, so look for Teddy to get in the game pretty early. I would anticipate both quarterbacks getting a series or two. If Teddy plays well and continues to practice like he has, the Vikings could very well name him the starter by the third preseason game. I have no inside information when I say that. That is just going off the notion that the third preseason game is where the starters play the most. So if, in fact, Bridgewater can win the job, they will want him to get as much work in as possible with the first team.

In this article, Norv Turner explained what he will be looking for with Teddy:

“He doesn’t have to be sensational. He just has to make good decisions,” Turner said. “He needs to protect the ball, get our group in and out of the huddle, get in the right play, get in the right protection. That’s the biggest thing about managing the game.

“He’s going to make plays. When he had an opportunity out here, he’s made plays. He’s made big plays throwing the ball up the field, and he’s made big plays checking the ball down.”