Sam Bradford has been ruled out playing in Week 3 when the Minnesota Vikings host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but there is silver lining to be found.
According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, Bradford is getting a second opinion on his knee Friday with Dr. James Andrews — the man who did Bradford’s two ACL surgeries. However, to this point Bradford has been told there is no structural damage to his knee. Furthermore, per Pelissero, the quarterback did not suffer a setback this week. Rather, he just did not see enough improvement to play.
No setback for #Vikings QB Sam Bradford. No doctors have suggested structural issues. Knee just didn't improve much. More from @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/44DAzTBblx
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 22, 2017
What Bradford and the Vikings hope to get out of his visit with Dr. Andrews is “clarity,” per Pelissero.
“The knee remains painful for Bradford right now,” Pelissero reported. “It’s not something he’s able to deal with on a daily basis…”
What this means in the short term is that Case Keenum, who was awful last week, will get the start for the second week in a row. On a related note, it means the Vikings need to get more out of their defense and running game in Week 3 in order to come out of it victorious against a very talented Buccaneers squad.
Bradford came out on fire in Week 1, putting on a history-making performance as he completed 84.4 percent of his passes for 346 yards and three touchdowns. Needless to say, the Vikings cannot get him back soon enough.