Minnesota Vikings QB Teddy Bridgewater making progress

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater continues to work out off to the side with athletic trainers. He hasn't played since suffering a gruesome dislocation and multiple ligament tears to his left knee during a non-contact practice drill 12 days before the start of last season.

The Vikings aren't sure when Bridgewater will be cleared by doctors to participate in practice. Head coach Mike Zimmer, however, said he could see a noticeable improvement in Bridgewater when the coach returned from taking two weeks off to rest after the eighth surgery on his right eye.

"Sometimes when you see a guy every day you don't notice the progress that he's made," Zimmer said. "I'm gone for two weeks and he, obviously, isn't on the tape. So, I come back yesterday and I said, 'Wow, Teddy, he's moving better.' Quite a bit better, in my opinion.

"But, he's still got a long way to go. I think he's happy with the progress. I know he's very impatient about wanting to get out there and go. But, we have to do it within the best interest of him in the long run. At the end, the final say is going to be from the doctors; when they say, 'Hey, he's good to go.' You know they gave him the green light to do a little bit more stuff on the side you saw (Tuesday), but it's just going to continue to take time to keep progressing at the right pace."