Teddy Bridgewater embodies the ultimate wild card

Mankato – Throughout his time in Minnesota, Teddy Bridgewater has repeatedly executed a trick play, proving more likable than accessible, eliciting affection without offering many glimpses of his soul.

You could see his personality billowing like laughing gas through the Vikings locker room on Friday afternoons, when players lounged and joked. Bridgewater would often be the one standing in the middle of what looked like a comedy club, more performer than patron.

He saved that side of himself for teammates, with the exception of one conversation we had during his second training camp. That day we walked from practice into the Vikings facility in Mankato and he talked of his love of his mother…