Teddy Bridgewater takes short-term focus into Saints' preseason debut

Another step in the Teddy Bridgewater comeback from a gruesome knee injury will come Friday against the Minnesota Vikings. This time, the quarterback will face his old team with a fuller understanding of the New Orleans Saints offense he will be asked to run.

The difference between preparing for this preseason game and the regular season one he started in Week 17 last season against the Carolina Panthers is significant.

“The level of confidence is a little higher,” Bridgewater said. “Last year, I got here the day of the last preseason game. I was listening to the calls on the sideline and I didn’t know what was going on.

“Now, having a year under my belt, I can say the comfort level has grown with the system. I can understand why we’re calling what plays and what we’re trying to accomplish when we call certain plays. I’m excited about that.”

This won’t be the first preseason action for the 26-year-old since the injury that sidelined him for nearly two full seasons. He played three exhibition games for the New York Jets last August before a trade sent him to the Saints. What makes these preseason games significant for Bridgewater and the Saints is the stage it could set for coming years.

Try to imagine this Saints roster next season with Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara in place as key playmakers, and with an experienced offensive line under contract for the coming years. What if Drew Brees decides at age 41 -- that’s what he’ll be after the 2019 season ends -- to call it a career? How well Bridgewater plays Friday and beyond this month could ease his transition as a potential long-term replacement in a fully-loaded offense.

Whether that becomes his reality with the Saints is a long way from being determined. At the moment, there is little to suggest Brees will not play beyond this season. He once spoke about playing until age 45 but now claims to have a year-at-a-time approach, perhaps so he doesn’t get asked so many times about his long-range plans.

Certainly, Bridgewater likes being in New Orleans. He told WWL in the spring when he signed his one-year contract for $7.5 million how the Saints made learning football fun. He viewed his decision as a short-term wait for what he listed as his long-term desire -- to become an NFL starter again.

The Saints have Brees and Bridgewater under contract only for this season, so either would need to agree to an extension that would keep him with the organization for at least the 2020 season. For now, that’s a long way off. The Saints have more urgent plans beginning with the preseason opener inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

Bridgewater spoke Wednesday after practice about using the preseason opener to create an identity within the offense. He talked about setting a tempo, anything to showcase his command of an offense Brees has mastered under Sean Payton since they first arrived in 2006.

“I honestly say this is the best I ever felt in my six years, and I feel great mentally and physically,” Bridgewater said. “I’m looking forward to going out there and competing; get an opportunity to lead my troops up and down the field and lead this football team again.”

Latavius Murray saw some of the early progress Bridgewater made in his return from the injury when the pair were Vikings together in 2017. That season, Bridgewater attempted two passes late in the season during a lopsided win against the Bengals.

“It’s a process,” said Murray, a running back who first met Bridgewater when the pair were at the Pro Bowl together in 2015, back when Murray played for the Raiders. “I’ve dealt with injuries; I’ve dealt with something similar to Teddy. … I think a lot of what we do is mental, and I think for him to overcome that part is obviously important.

“Once he was able to get on the field and play some real football, I think everybody was in his corner. Since then, he’s improved and improved and improved. I think it shows in how he ended up here. Going forward, they’ve invested in a guy that they want around.”

Brees did not play in the preseason opener in four of the last five seasons, so there’s good reason to think Bridgewater will handle the opening snap. Payton said Wednesday no decision on a starter had been made.

Bridgewater and Taysom Hill are the only quarterbacks on the roster, so perhaps each will play for one full half with Brees watching from the sideline.

Of Bridgewater, “He is certainly going to play a lot this week,” Payton said.

The quarterback has gone through one full regular season with the Saints. He completed his first offseason with the team in the spring. This now is his first training camp, with his first preseason game set to arrive. Last season, his competitive fuel burned while going against the first-team Saints defense as a scout-team quarterback. Finally, he has experience in the Saints offense, now with a better chance to show what he can do.