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Teddy Bridgewater posts short video of himself throwing, but Mike Zimmer says still no timetable for QB's return

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater keeps his Instagram account private, but he still has over 330,000 followers, so when he posts something, it’s not exactly going to be kept secret.

Such was the case on Tuesday night. The injured QB posted a brief video of himself throwing to an unknown receiver, and before long, it made it to Twitter, with Minneapolis Star-Tribune Vikings reporter Andrew Krammer putting it on his timeline:

To this point, Bridgewater’s rehab from a complete left ACL tear and other damage suffered during a training camp practice last August has been largely shrouded in mystery, so to see him throwing, even just one throw (and wearing the large, bulky brace leg brace you’d expect to see), offers a small glimpse into his progress.

On Wednesday, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer pulled the curtain back a bit more. Speaking at the NFC coaches breakfast at the annual NFL spring meetings, Zimmer gave an indication of just how serious Bridgewater’s injury was, but continued to say there’s no timetable for the 24-year old’s return.

In a series of tweets posted Wednesday morning, St. Paul Pioneer-Press reporter Chris Tomasson chronicled Zimmer’s words.

Zimmer said Bridgewater, a Miami native, is rehabbing at a facility in his home city, and travels up to Minnesota for a week every month to check in with the team’s training staff and work with them; he is starting to run on land, progress after he began running in a pool.

“I think he’s in a good frame of mind. The last time I saw him, he was in a good frame of mind,” Zimmer said.

Minnesota GM Rick Spielman also provided an update on Bridgewater from the NFL meetings.

“I know he’s been working extremely hard,” Spielman said. “As far as a timeline, I know he was in last week and continuing to rehab with our medical staff and [Vikings’ head athletic trainer] Eric Sugarman. I can tell you there is no one I’ve seen other than Adrian [Peterson] when he came back from his ACL that has worked as hard as Teddy is working. And this is more significant than just an ACL.

“But Teddy is incredible with the attitude and work ethic that he’s put in to get back on the field as quickly as we can.”

The most revealing thing Zimmer said had to do with how things were handled in the immediate aftermath of Bridgewater’s injury.

Zimmer lauded Vikings’ head trainer Eric Sugarman, saying Sugarman’s diagnosis and treatment of Bridgewater “possibly saved his career, possibly saved his life,” and that Bridgewater should be Sugarman’s friend “for the rest of his life.”

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While reiterating that he doesn’t know whether Bridgewater will play in 2017, Zimmer said Minnesota will stick with Sam Bradford at quarterback as Bridgewater continues to work his way back. The Vikings acquired Bradford from the Eagles after Bridgewater’s injury.

“There really is no other plan until [Bridgewater] gets healthy,” Zimmer said, adding later, “I want Teddy. I don’t want him going somewhere else,” when the prospect of Bridgewater going to another team came up.

Teddy Bridgewater. (Getty Images)
Teddy Bridgewater. (Getty Images)