New York Jets quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has impressed in two preseason games while continuing a comeback from a devastating knee injury suffered in August 2016 as a member of the Minnesota Vikings.
New York Giants head coach Pat Shurmur, who previously served on the Vikings coach staff, couldn't be happier for Bridgewater.
"I'm thrilled for whatever success he's having," Shurmur told reporters Sunday, via the Giants' official website. "I did peek at their game and it appears to me like he's playing pretty well, and the only thing I would say is don't sleep on Teddy because I think he's got it in him."
Shurmur would know, of course, after watching Bridgewater help lead the Vikings to an 11-5 record in 2015 with 3,231 yards passing and 14 touchdowns, adding 192 yards rushing and three scores.
Bridgewater's knee injury kept him out of football in 2016, and he found himself behind then-Vikings starting quarterback Case Keenum when he returned to the lineup in November 2017. But the signal-caller he had his share of supporters to help the recovery process.
"Teddy is an outstanding, competitive guy and he's got a unique charisma," Shurmur told reporters, via the Giants' website. "When I was there with him, the whole area loved Teddy. He just had that way about him, and then when he got injured, everybody was pulling for him to come back."
Nevertheless, the Vikings elected not to exercise a fifth-year option on Bridgewater during the 2017 offseason making him a free agent in 2018. He signed a deal with the Jets in March ahead of the team's first-round selection of Sam Darnold.
Last year's starter Josh McCown returns and Darnold is viewed as the Jets' future, but Bridgewater has emerged to make the quarterback position interesting. Through two preseason games with the Jets, Bridgewater has completed 17 of 23 passes (73.9 percent) for 212 yards and two touchdowns with an interception.
Regardless what happens on the scoreboard, Shurmur marvels at the hard work Bridgewater has endured on the comeback trail.
"I was standing just a few feet from him when he had his injury and it was a very tough deal," Shurmur told reporters. "It went from worrying about whether the nerve was going to be able to walk again, to now he's out there playing. I'm certainly very happy for Teddy."
