Teddy Bridgewater has a great thing going with the New Orleans Saints. He proved to be someone they can win with in 2019, winning all five of his starts in relief of Drew Brees, and he’s well within the prime of his career (having celebrated his 27th birthday back in November). Brees could retire any year now, opening the door for Bridgewater to take over one of the NFL’s deepest and most-talented rosters.
But what if another team convinces him to leave in free agency? Bridgewater’s contract is up just like the other Saints quarterbacks, and he should get an opportunity to test the open market and see what kind of offers are out there. He owes it to himself to see which starting jobs may be up for grabs.
The second part of this question is: which teams could be interested in Bridgewater? Some of the quarterback-needy teams around the league are locked in on top draft prospects, like the Cincinnati Bengals (tied to LSU Tigers passer Joe Burrow with the first-overall pick) and the Miami Dolphins (who have been connected to Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa for months). It’s possible that pickings will be just as slim for Bridgewater this summer as it was last year. But here are four teams with uncertain quarterback situations we’ll be watching in the months ahead.
Chicago Bears
Actions speak louder than words, and Bears general manager Ryan Pace (ironically an ex-Saints executive) has proven that to be true before. He inked a three-year, $45 million contract with Mike Glennon back in 2017, publicly committed to Glennon as the team’s starter, and then traded up in the draft to select Mitchell Trubisky. Glennon was benched by Week 5 in favor of Trubisky, who is still around and playing far below expectations. Pace has recommitted to Trubisky earlier this offseason, but would it really be so shocking if he went back on his word again?
He got a first-row seat at Bridgewater’s performance against the vaunted Bears defense last season, in which the Saints backup went 23-of-38 for 281 yards, completing passes at a rate of 7.39 yards per attempt and standing tall in the face of a Bears pass-rush handpicked by Pace the last few years. Bridgewater arguably had a better game at Soldier Field than Trubisky turned in all year, and the Bears should be a team to watch when free agency kicks off.