If Teddy Bridgewater is the answer at quarterback for the New York Jets, then he has to clear up questions about his surgically repaired knee. In his introductory conference call with reporters Wednesday, Bridgewater failed to do so.
When asked if his knee was close to 100 percent and if he would be ready to participate in offseason drills, Bridgewater dodged the query.
"That's not something I'm comfortable talking about right now," he said, per ESPN. "I'm pretty sure that will be a discussion I have with the training staff and we'll come up with a plan moving forward."
The murkiness of his answer might help explain why Bridgewater, a former first-round pick, who before his devastating knee injury in 2016, was slated to lead the Minnesota Vikings under center for the next decade, settled in free agency for a one-year, incentive-laden contract to play backup for the Jets.
The health of his knee remains up in the air, but Bridgewater's faith in his recovery and comeback is absolute.
"I'm very confident in myself," he said. "I'm confident in the athletic training staff and the coaching staff that they can get me back to the player that I once was. But at the same time, we're only in March and the only way to get better is to put the work in now. I'm excited about this opportunity I have. ... I can't wait. I'm excited."
Given Bridgewater's contract situation -- he is only guaranteed around $500K of a deal worth up to $15 million and is at risk of being cut during training camp -- he'll have to prove a lot in the lead up to training camp. Already behind 38-year-old Josh McCown on the depth chart, Bridgewater could fall behind whichever rookie quarterback the Jets select with the third overall pick in April's draft if he's not "back to the player" he was by minicamp and OTAs.
Bridgewater was undaunted by this possibility in talking to reporters, declaring, "Being an athlete and ultimate competitor, as a player, I welcome competition."
Teddy's in luck. He'll have plenty of competition under center in New York come July, and August, and September, and so on.