Teddy Bridgewater is out for the year with a major knee injury, and it's obviously terrible news for both him and the Vikings. He's got a lengthy rehab ahead of him, and Minnesota will need to try and repeat as NFC North champs with Shaun Hill in the lineup.
But while it's all awfully unfortunate, it need not be a death blow to Minnesota's season. Or the fantasy prospects of Minnesota's various players. Hill, besides looking strikingly like my first boss in small-town journalism lo those many years ago, might be able to do OK. Some backup quarterbacks are indeed capable of stepping in and producing.
Back in 2014, Hill started the last seven games for a similarly constructed Rams team. He only went 3-4, but the offense scored at least 22 points in five of those contests.
On two occasions -- against really good Seattle and Arizona defenses -- the Rams simply got overwhelmed. But in the other five games, the Rams did produce a viable top receiver (at least 89 yards four times, 2 TDs in the fifth). In three of those, they had a running back either go over 100 yards or score, or both (and Tre Mason is no Adrian Peterson).
So I don't think anyone should be excited about Minnesota skill position players, but it's at least possible that Adrian Peterson and Stefon Diggs will be viable performers in most games.
| SHAUN HILL'S LAST STARTING STINT, 2014 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opp | Pts | PaYds | PaTD | Top RB | Top WR/TE |
| Denver | 22 | 220 | 1 | Mason: 113, 0 | Britt: 4-128-1 |
| San Diego | 24 | 198 | 1 | Mason: 62, 0 | Bailey: 7-89-1 |
| Oakland | 52 | 183 | 2 | Mason: 117, 2 | Bailey: 5-100-0 |
| Washington | 24 | 213 | 2 | Mason: 62, 0 | Cook: 4-61-2 |
| Arizona | 6 | 229 | 0 | Mason: 33, 0 | Bailey: 5-74-0 |
| N.Y. Giants | 27 | 290 | 2 | Mason: 76, 1 | Britt: 9-103-0 |
| Seattle | 6 | 243 | 0 | Mason: 28, 0 | Britt: 4-38-0 |
--Andy Richardson