Former Vikings QB Sidelined with Teeth Injury

Football fan Keith Kunzig, known as Big Nasty, gets fired up when the Buccaneers had a two point lead against the Carolina Panthers. The Bucs lost to the Panthers 26 to 24 Sunday afternoon September 24, 2006, at Raymond James Stadium Tampa. © Thomas Bender / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images.

You don’t see that one every day: former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has missed two days of practice this week with an injury to his teeth.

One once-promising former Vikings quarterback is on the shelf this week, and the reason for his absence is a teeth injury, if that can be believed.

Bridgewater plays for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and while his counterpart, Baker Mayfield, is healing from a knee injury and is expected to play in Week 8, Bridgewater’s status is uncertain.

Bad Teeth the Problem for Ex-Vikings Passer Teddy Bridgewater

That … might be a first?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (10) warmed up on Sept. 28, 2025, in Tampa, Florida, before the matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles at Raymond James Stadium. The veteran quarterback prepared under humid conditions as Tampa Bay looked to steady its offense against one of the NFC’s top defenses in a nationally televised contest. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images.

Teeth Land Teddy Bridgewater on Injury Report

It’s bad teeth for Bridgewater. NBC Sports‘ Josh Alper wrote, “The Buccaneers had both of their quarterbacks on Wednesday’s lengthy injury report. Baker Mayfield is listed as a limited participant due to a knee injury. Mayfield has been on the injury report at various other points this season, but has played all but one of the team’s offensive snaps.”

“Teddy Bridgewater played the other snap, but he did not practice at all on Wednesday. His teeth are listed as the reason why he was out of practice, which is unusual but wouldn’t seem to be an issue to keep him out for Sunday’s game against the Saints if he’s back at practice before the week is out.”

Some saw “teeth” on the injury report and wondered if they were being trolled.

Baker Mayfield Trending in the Right Direction

Mayfield was limited in practice on Wednesday, turning heads because the designation could’ve been a segue to a Questionable status before kickoff on Sunday.

Yet, with Bridgewater’s teeth ailing him, Mayfield rebounded and logged a full participation in practice on Thursday.

Myles Simmons, also of NBC Sports, wrote, “Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield was upgraded on Tampa Bay’s Thursday injury report, but the club also added a key defensive player to the list. Mayfield (knee) went from a limited participant to a full participant in the day’s session. That puts him in line to start against the Saints on Sunday.”

Buccaneers Hoping to Bounce Back from Week 7 Loss

Tampa Bay, a team that looks like an NFC Championship hopeful, suffered a humbling experience on Monday Night Football, losing on the road to the Detroit Lions by a score of 24-9. The game never really felt within reach of the Buccaneers, and the Lions cruised, much to Vikings fans’ chagrin.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (16) dropped back to pass on Aug. 16, 2025, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, during first-quarter play against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium. The preseason outing provided Bridgewater valuable reps with Tampa Bay’s offense as he worked to refine timing and rhythm ahead of the regular season. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.

This week, with Mayfield back to full practice participation and Bridgewater possibly out, Tampa Bay heads to New Orleans for a date with the 1-5 Saints.

It’s a division rivalry game, so Todd Bowles’ team is favored to win by just four or five points. The Buccaneers can climb to 6-2 with a dub, which most NFL fans expect.

Contingency Plan if No Bridgewater

If Bridgewater misses the Saints showdown, Tampa Bay would presumably elevate undrafted rookie Connor Bazelak.

Tampa Bay found Bazelak after April’s draft, a product of Bowling Green who also spent time at Missouri from 2019 to 2021 and at Indiana in 2022. Bazelak is a practice squader at the moment, meaning he would need to be elevated if Bridgewater’s teeth don’t heal in time for Sunday.

More on TB’s QBs

JoeBucFans.com on the Buccaneers’ quarterback situation: “Mayfield got banged up in the loss to the Lions. Yesterday he seemed fine both at the podium and in the locker room. But Mayfield himself admitted he got bounced around and that he was feeling better yesterday. He was limited in practice with a sore knee. Concerning, sure. Time to panic? No — until Joe saw the very first name on the injury report. Backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater did not practice at all yesterday.”

“Just two days after he made his Bucs debut on Monday night taking a knee to kill the clock. Yes, Bridgewater played one snap on Monday night. The reason the Bucs gave for Bridgewater not being able to practice? A one-word designation: ‘Teeth.’ So Mayfield didn’t practice much (it was a walk-through) because of a bum knee and his backup, Bridgewater, has some sort of dental issue that prevented him from taking snaps in a “jocks and socks” practice.”

Minnesota quarterback T. Bridgewater (5) took warmup reps on Dec. 6, 2015, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, before the game against the Seattle Seahawks at TCF Bank Stadium. The young signal-caller prepped in frigid conditions as Minnesota aimed to extend its winning record late in the season, with Bridgewater fine-tuning his rhythm ahead of the NFC matchup. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports.

Bridgewater will turn 33 in about two weeks.