Vikings' Bradford returns to practice for 1st time since October
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford will practice on Tuesday for the first time since being shut down early in the season with a knee injury, the team announced.
After undergoing a knee scope to rule out damage to his ACL, Bradford was placed on season-ending injured reserve on Nov. 8. The 30-year-old was eligible to come off IR after six weeks, but due to the play of quarterback Case Keenum, the Vikings brought Bradford along slowly. Minnesota will have three weeks to determine whether or not to include Bradford on its 53-man roster.
"I just want to see where he's at, how he's moving, things like that," head coach Mike Zimmer told ESPN's Courtney Cronin on Monday. "I hear he's moving good, I hear he's throwing the ball good, but it's all I do is hear. We'll just go about it and see how it goes."
Bradford threw for 346 yards and three touchdowns in Week 1 against the New Orleans Saints. After missing three games, he attempted a comeback in Week 5 against the Chicago Bears, but was removed during halftime after suffering a setback. In his place, Keenum has been outstanding, throwing for 22 touchdowns with only seven interceptions, performing to a 98.3 passer rating.
The Vikings will play the highest winning seed of the NFC Wild Card round at home on Sunday, Jan. 14.