A week littered with encouraging news surrounding Sam Bradford has taken one more important step for the Minnesota Vikings.
According to Ben Goessling of the Star-Tribune, the veteran quarterback will play Monday night against the Chicago Bears. Goessling said Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer told ESPN’s broadcast crew that he anticipates Bradford (left knee) will return.
Bradford, who missed the the last three games, opened the season in wonderful fashion. He torched the New Orleans Saints for 346 yards and three touchdowns with a 27-of-32 completion mark that Monday night but was injured in the game.
Since then, Case Keenum has guided the Minnesota offense. Although he didn’t throw any interceptions, Keenum averaged a combined 5.8 yards per attempt in losses to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Detroit Lions but torched the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for 11.2 yards per throw during a 34-17 victory in Week 3.
The Vikings likely would rather have consistency under center. Bradford won’t put together many explosions like his Week 1 performance — New Orleans is terrible defensively, after all — but he’s good for 200 yards and one touchdown almost every game.
After practicing on a limited basis this week, Bradford is ready to provide an upgrade under center. Ironically enough, he’ll have only played for Minnesota on a Monday night this season.
The trick moving forward is having Bradford available on a Sunday.