Vikings players thrilled to have Bridgewater back at practice

Teddy Bridgewater may still have a "ways to go" before he can return to an NFL field, according to head coach Mike Zimmer, but the rest of the Minnesota Vikings' players were ecstatic to just have the young quarterback back at practice Wednesday.

"I thought he looked like Joe Montana," said tight end Kyle Rudolph, according to Chris Tomasson of Pioneer Press. "He was excited. He was smiling, bringing energy to practice."

"He was getting some reps with the first team," said quarterback Kyle Sloter. "It looks like they're trying to get him ready to play. Case (Keenum) is the guy right now, he's been playing well. ... But I thought (Bridgewater) looked great."

Bridgewater is highly unlikely to suit up in Week 7, but the 24-year-old impressed his teammates with how good he looked only 14 months after an almost career-ending knee injury.

"He's the same old Teddy," said wide receiver Adam Thielen. "It was fun to have him out there. ... He was out there slinging it around."

Sloter added, "He looked like a normal person moving around out there. It didn't look like there were any glaring issues, no limp or anything like that."

With starter Sam Bradford still battling a lingering knee injury, the Vikings may need to turn to Bridgewater sooner than anyone predicted, though Keenum has impressed in relief duty.