I hate to start the Ottoneu Football player profiles off on a down note, but sometimes the preseason only brings bad news. After reports of a leg injury it looks like Teddy Bridgewater will miss significant time - quite possibly the full season. Coming on the heels of Tony Romo’s back injury, it’s been a rough week for those of us who have just completed our ottoneu drafts.
How does this injury impact his ottoneu value? We may find out more in the coming days, but I don’t think it’s out of line to suggest that he shouldn’t be drafted in any leagues that have not yet done their annual auction. Bridgewater was the QB23 last year for Ottoneu, so he was already on the fringes of ownership, and while I was one of many who expected to see some growth this year, it’s now highly unlikely you’ll get any value from him. You’re almost certainly better off taking a flier on any other QB in that range, including guys like Joe Flacco, Jay Cutler, and Brock Osweiler.
If own Bridgewater now, you’ll likely see him placed on IR, which will give you an extra roster spot to work with, so you don’t need to drop him right away, although you may decide to do so if you need to free up some more cap space. If you haven’t drafted yet, you may be thinking about trying to stash him for a dollar for next year. Frankly, that doesn’t seem like a great use of resources to me, since it’s likely that he’ll again be freely available at or near the minimum. If you’re looking for a stash play at quarterback, I’d be much more interested in Tony Romo, whose ceiling is much, much higher than Bridgewater’s, if and when he does return this year.
Additionally, this will obviously impact the Vikings offense. While it may place more emphasis on the run game, it’s hard to imagine Adrian Peterson getting any more work than he usually does, so I’m not sure it helps his value much - and in fact, it might hurt him, as enemy defenses are able to devote more resources towards defending the run. Obviously, this is not great news for Minnesota pass-catchers like Charles Johnson, Stefon Diggs, or Kyle Rudolph, all of who were fringe players at best in Ottoneu, even before this injury.