The worst-case scenario fear surfaced in Sam Bradfordr17;s mind at midseason Scott Hartnell Jersey , in the aftermath of the 30-year-old quarterbackr17;s latest surgery on his left knee.
This procedure was an arthroscopic cleanup, not another reconstruction, but that didnr17;t quiet the question about whether her17;d be able to resume his career.
r1;That was a battle I fought for a few weeks,r1; Bradford said. r1;But it seemed like each day where it got better, each week where it felt like I was making true progress and could do a little bit more, those thoughts started to leave my mind. I started to become more confident in how I felt on my knee and what I was able to do.r1;
Bradford returned to practice with the Minnesota Vikings this week, the earliest he was eligible to do so after being placed on injured reserve on Nov. 8.
The Vikings can put him back on the active roster for the playoffs at any time, with a decision required by Jan. 23 if they advance to the Super Bowl.
Bradford would likely only be the second or third option at that point behind Case Keenum and possibly Teddy Bridgewater, but in this unpredictable sport the potential of him being summoned into duty canr17;t be dismissed.
r1;Ir17;ve been working extremely hard to be able to get back out there, and so just to be out there and be able to go through these two practices, itr17;s been great,r1; Bradford said on Wednesday, his first mass interview in three months. r1;I think wer17;re still just taking it one day at a time.r1;
Bradford, who tore his ACL in 2013 and 2014 when he was with the St. Louis Rams, performed brilliantly in the season-opening win over the New Orleans Saints, during which he aggravated the knee.
Keenum started the next three games, until Bradford had made sufficient enough progress to be cleared to start at Chicago on Oct. 9. He hobbled around in the first half against the Bears that night Youth Mike Gesicki Jersey , though. He took four sacks and produced only three points before giving way to Keenum again late in the second quarter, this time for good.
Vikings head athletic trainer Eric Sugarman described the injury as natural wear and tear, but Bradford tried a variety of treatments to try to strengthen the joint without success before ultimately opting for the surgery.
Finally, he said, the knee is feeling as good as it has since training camp.
r1;I donr17;t know what the future holds. I donr17;t know how itr17;s going to hold up. But I didnr17;t know how it was going to hold up after the previous two operations,r1; Bradford said.
r1;I donr17;t think anyone knows how their body is going to hold up. All you can do is try to get it as strong as possible.r1;
Bradford kept up a behind-the-scenes presence with the Vikings throughout his rehabilitation, assisting Keenum with the game-planning and attempting to remain engaged with the team during its run to a 13-3 regular season record and a first-round bye for the playoffs.
r1;I know itr17;s been a hard year for him battling that knee, so itr17;s good to see him out there feeling good,r1; tight end Kyle Rudolph said.
The what-could-have-been feelings were inevitable for Bradford, given the teamr17;s success without him, but calling it career before all options were exhausted was not entertained even with career earnings well over $100 million.
r1;You realize how special it is to be on the field with your teammates, being able to compete out there in the National Football League,r1; Bradford said.
r1;Thatr17;s one of the greatest honors there is. I think once you have a taste of that feeling, itr17;s really hard to let it go. I think for everyone, itr17;s what drives you to come back.r1;
Rudolph, for his part, pushed through a sprained right ankle over the past three games.
r1;I canr17;t tell you what Plan B wouldr17;ve been had we had to play a game this week. I just wouldr17;ve been out there and been a terrible football player like I have been for the last three weeks Youth Jerome Baker Jersey ,r1; Rudolph said. r1;Getting to this week off is big for me.r1;
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NEW YORK r12; A lineup shakeup produced the desired results Monday night for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Unfortunately for the New York Mets, rookie manager Mickey Callaway already unsuccessfully pulled that out of his bag of tricks.
The Pirates will look to lock up a series win Tuesday over the free-falling Mets Tuesday night, when the two teams play the middle game of a three-game set at Citi Field.
Pirates right-hander Chad Kuhl (5-5, 4.56 ERA) is scheduled to oppose Mets left-hander Steven Matz (3-5, 3.68 ERA).
The Pirates ended a five-game losing streak Monday night, when a rejiggered top of the lineup scored five runs in a 6-4 victory.
The Piratesr17; top three batters r12; Starling Marte, Josh Bell and Josh Harrison r12; were all occupying those spots for the first time this season. Marte scored three runs and stole two bases, Bell hit a two-run homer and Harrison delivered a sacrifice fly and scored a run.
The six runs were the most the Pirates (37-41) have scored since an 8-6 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on June 17. Pittsburgh scored nine runs in the subsequent six games.
r0;If itr17;s broken, you have to fix it, right?r1; Bell said Monday night. r0;Changing things up, giving us all a new view. Marte hasnr17;t led off in a while. r16;J-Heyr17; is hitting third. Changing things up, it might have been the spark that we needed.r1;
The Mets (31-45) have been looking for a spark for weeks. New York has lost seven straight, 18 of 22 and 20 of 64 since an 11-1 start to fall dangerously close to the bottom of the National League. The only team with a worse record in the Senior Circuit is the Miami Marlins, who rank mere percentage points behind at 32-47.
Shuffling the lineup hasnr17;t worked for Callaway, who had three players (second-place batter Jose Bautista, cleanup batter Dominic Smith and sixth-place batter Jose Reyes) in unfamiliar spots Monday. Smith was batting cleanup for the first time this year while Bautista and Reyes were occupying their spots for the second and third time, respectively.
Against the New York Yankees on June 9 Youth Brian O'Neill Jersey , Callaway batted Amed Rosario leadoff for the first time as a major leaguer and Todd Frazier and Brandon Nimmo second and third, respectively, for the first time this season in a 4-3 loss.
With the Mets seeing no immediate payoff for Callawayr17;s mixing and matching, he is left to hope the lessons learned from the extended bleak times will yield results down the road.
r0;As hard as itr17;s been, we have to understand that this is something that we can benefit from in the long run,r1; Callaway said Monday afternoon. r0;No matter how many times you fall, you can learn from it. And I think our guys understand that and we talk about that type (of) stuff all the time.r1;
Kuhl and Matz will both be looking to bounce back from rough losses last Thursday.
Kuhl allowed eight runs over two innings as the Pirates fell to the Arizona Diamondbacks, 9-3. The eight runs were the second-most Kuhlr17;s allowed as a big leaguer while the two innings pitched marked his second-shortest start.
Matz gave up five runs over 5 2/3 innings in the Metsr17; 6-4 loss to the Colorado Rockies. The five earned runs were a season-high for Matz, who allowed three runs or fewer in his seven of his previous eight starts.
Kuhl took the defeat in his only previous start against the Mets on May 26, 2017, when he gave up five runs over 4 1/3 innings as the Pirates lost, 8-1.
Matz also lost his lone start against the Pirates on June 7, 2016, when he allowed two runs over five innings as the Mets fell, 3-1.
