The Facts: According to GM Rick Spielman, Bridgewater is "technically ready to become a free agent," but there remains the prospect that the Vikings quarterback could have his contract tolled for next season, meaning he would play for the same $1.354 million he earned in 2017, because of the time he spent on the physically unable to perform list for the first six weeks of the season during the last year of his rookie contract.
Diehards Line:
Spielman did not detail how a decision to toll Bridgewater's contract would ultimately be made or whether the Vikings would have to make a request to the NFL to take action. "If it goes into that area, it's not a Minnesota Viking [decision] -- that's an NFL and player union that will have to decide that area," Spielman said. However, if it does get to that point, the NFLPA likely would file a grievance against the NFL and fight the decision in court. The issue stems from whether Bridgewater was medically cleared to play prior to Week 6. Bridgewater started the season on the PUP list, which he had to stay on for the first six weeks before being cleared to play. The quarterback was medically cleared to return to practice on Oct. 16, 2017, but has said he felt he could have returned sooner. NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith, who clarified that the matter stems from language in the NFL's collective bargaining agreement, said he was unsure how the players' union would become aware of the prospect of Bridgewater's contract tolling. Smith also was unclear on the league's timeline to make a decision. It is believed that if a decision is made to toll Bridgewater's contract, it needs to be done prior to the start of free agency. Teams can begin entering contract negotiations two days ahead of the start of the new league year, which beings on March 14. Spielman also declined to discuss a timeline when asked about it earlier Thursday. ... Bottom line? Stay tuned. We should know more on this soon.