Neither Sam Bradford nor the Vikings have yet to acknowledge he has a bone bruise or be specific on the injury that kept him out of this past Sunday’s game and has limited him in practice for going on two weeks.

Bradford said his knee got worse during the Vikings’ season-opening game against the Saints, and he and head coach Mike Zimmer characterized it as some sort of twisting injury and not from contact.

By video review, there was no direct contact knee bone bruise. However, there is a suspicious play for non-contact bone bruise near the end of the third quarter where Bradford is pushed in the back after he releases the ball. In the fourth quarter, Bradford can be seen subtly limping and favoring the left knee slightly.

That Bradford is even on the field for practice in a limited role can be considered positive. He appears to be trending toward playing Sunday against the Buccaneers.


But it is still a wait-and-see situation.

Just because it is not his ACL and is non-contact does not lessen the significance of the injury. In fact, it might be more severe.

There are different types of bone bruises. When a helmet hits the knee, that certainly causes one kind of bone bruise. But when there is a misstep and the femur and tibia jam violently together without the muscles dampening the blow, a non-contact bone bruise can occur.

A most recent example is Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper, who suffered a bone bruise at the first base bag and has now missed almost seven weeks.Examples in the NFL, include Ben Roethlisberger, who missed four weeks in 2015, and Dez Bryant, who missed three weeks in 2016.


The bone bruises from contact hurt more when they happen but are more a pain tolerance issue and non-structural with no long-term risk.

The non-contact bruises are potentially more worrisome, as a bruise to the bone near the articular surface can get worse and lead to collapse or lack of support for the all-important overlying articular cartilage. (Picture the grass on the football field with the the underlying bone being the dirt)

The worry is potential long term risk.Bradford certainly looked better on limited video in Wednesday’s practice than he did in early warmup on Sunday.

In 15 minutes of open practice, this is about as much as we got to see #Vikings QB Sam Bradford do. pic.twitter.com/8yQiGhuYC3 — Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 20, 2017


We don’t know how much Bradford practiced.

Limited could mean all he did was pat-and-go, or he practiced almost the whole time. Participating in one percent of a practice or 99 percent of a practice can be described as limited.

Said on @nflnetwork: My understanding is Sam Bradford didn't do a lot in practice today. That was the plan though. If knee responds, ramp up — Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 20, 2017

Without having examined Bradford, the best I can analyze is this:


If the bruise is away from the articular areas, then I expect Bradford back as soon as possible, and he will have to deal with pain. It will be a tolerance issue.

If the bruise is near the joint, it may be more prudent to wait for him to return to decrease the chance of long-term issues.

ProFootballDoc × On Now Video: Aaron Rodgers' apparent MCL sprain will limit movement up to a month On Now Video: Doug Baldwin should return in week or two On Now Video: Carson Wentz's road to recovery probably remains same distance, just bumpier On Now Video: The bad news is actually good news for Eric Wood On Now Tom Brady reportedly needed more than 10 stitches to injured hand, sprained a ligament, and it is being called 'a legitimate issue' On Now Video: Pro Football Doc: Ryan Shazier On Now Video: Pro Football Doc: Tom Savage's concussion On Now Video: Pro Football Doc: Aaron Rodgers returns On Now Video: Pro Football Doc: Carson Wentz On Now Ryan Shazier injury appears more worrisome than most 0:34