Maybe the most pressing question in Minnesota during the 2016 offseason was whether Teddy Bridgewater was going to develop into a true franchise quarterback and push the Vikings from a playoff team to a legit Super Bowl contender.

It’s unlikely we’ll get an answer to that question this season after Bridgewater suffered what Mike Zimmer referred to as a “significant” knee injury during practice Wednesday.

Any hope Bridgewater plays this season? Zimmer: "I don't know. It doesn't look good right now." — Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) August 30, 2016

It’s a brutal blow for a young passer who had shown clear signs of improvement during the preseason. And it is surely devastating for the Vikings, who have as much talent on the roster as any team in the league. But that doesn’t necessarily mean Bridgewater’s injury ends any chance of Minnesota reaching the postseason. If any of the league’s playoff contenders can survive without its quarterback — aside from Denver, of course — it’s the Vikings.

The Vikings marginalized the quarterback position more than any team in 2015, which, while probably detrimental to the development of Bridgewater, should at least provide a sliver of hope that the team can still be good without getting much from the passing game. The team attempted the fewest passes in the league and produced only 14 touchdowns through the air.

Related NFL players react after Teddy Bridgewater suffers significant knee injury

That’s not really a knock on Bridgewater, who is much better than his stats imply. But his role in the offense limited the impact he could have on the offense. We don’t know if Minnesota was going to expand his role in 2016 or whether he was up to the task, but we learned last year the Vikings were good enough to host a playoff game (which they should have won) with a caretaker at the quarterback position. The good news is caretakers aren’t too hard to find.

The Vikings will have to bring in a quarterback to replace Bridgewater on the active roster, but the team could decide to ride with Shaun Hill as the starter. There just aren’t many attractive alternatives out there.

Mark Sanchez will likely be available, but he doesn’t offer much of an upgrade over Hill and would have little time to learn the playbook. And Sanchez doesn’t really fit in with Mike Zimmer’s protect-the-ball-at-all-times philosophy.

Brian Hoyer is another option, but he’s basically a Hill clone, with an equally weak arm and less accuracy. He does have experience with offensive coordinator Norv Turner, who coached Hoyer in Cleveland, which might land him a contract offer.

Hill is probably Minnesota’s best short-term option. The last time he got significant playing time, 2014 in St. Louis, he was able to produce a stat line on par with what Bridgewater gave the Vikings last year:

Hill, 2014: 9 games, 63.3 completion %, 7.2 yards/attempt, 8 touchdowns, 7 interceptions, 83.9 passer rating

Bridgewater, 2015: 16 games, 65.3 completion %, 7.2 yards per attempt, 14 touchdowns, 8 interceptions, 88.7 passer rating

It doesn’t really matter who the Vikings bring in at this point; the offensive approach will not change. Adrian Peterson will get his 300+ carries, and Turner will continue to employ tight, run-heavy formations. Only five teams used three-receiver sets on a lower percentage of snaps than Minnesota did in 2015, and no team used play-action on a greater percentage of dropbacks, per Football Outsiders.

The success of this offense with be predicated on the efficacy of the run game. Maybe you’re expecting teams to load up the box to stop Peterson, but they were already doing so last season. According to Football Outsiders, only one team faced more average defenders in the box than the Vikings in 2015. That didn’t stop them from finishing eighth in rushing DVOA and fourth in total rushing yards.

The running game will be just fine, and the defense should finish around the top-10 once again in 2016.

That formula was enough to get the Vikings to 11 wins and the seventh-best point differential (+63) in the entire league last season. And we haven’t even gotten to the many improvements the front office made in the offseason. The line should be better than it was a year ago with the addition of free agent Alex Boone, the receiving corps is definitely improved after first-rounder Laquon Treadwell and all of those young defensive stars Minnesota has have another year of experience.

Without Bridgewater, this may no longer be the fringe Super Bowl contender Vikings fans may have been hoping for, but there’s still enough here to keep things interesting well into December.