PFF suggests the Panthers as a landing spot for free agent QB Teddy Bridgewater

Pro Football Focus suggested the Carolina Panthers as a logical landing spot for free agent Saints quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.

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Where will Teddy Bridgewater next play football? The New Orleans Saints backup won all five of his starts in 2019 and set himself up to draw heavy interest in free agency, though it’s unlikely he’ll earn anything close to what the top quarterbacks draw in annual salary.

Bridgewater has spoken at length about how important it is that he land with a new team that offers stability and a winning culture in addition to the pay raise. So that makes the decision to pair him with the Carolina Panthers by Pro Football Focus more than a little puzzling. The least-confusing aspect being that Cam Newton is still the projected starter under first-year coach Matt Rhule.

In this post, Bridgewater is projected to leave the Saints for an NFC South rival on a meager bump in salary, drawing just $9 million per year on a two-year contract, with only the first year guaranteed. In the writeup explaining this pairing, PFF’s Anthony Treash acknowledges that Bridgewater’s addition would serve as a band-aid until the Panthers can select a rookie quarterback in 2021:

With Drew Brees returning, Teddy Bridgewater is leaving, and the reports are that multiple teams are interested in his services as a bridge quarterback. Carolina would be among these teams. While they should consider tanking 2020 for Trevor Lawrence in the 2021 NFL Draft, they’ll probably not want to make it known they are holding out hope for Lawrence or Justin Fields in the next draft and use a safe quarterback such as Teddy Bridgewater instead. Bridgewater didn’t perform terribly for an injured Brees earlier this season, producing the NFL’s fifth-highest grade when starting from Weeks 3-7.

It’s tough to see Bridgewater accepting that. Between the low-ball offer, non-guaranteed starting gig, and shaky situation (with an implied tank in 2020 for a rookie passer the next year), why would Bridgewater throw his career away? He proved he can win in the NFL with the Saints last year and deserves the opportunity to become the face of a franchise. If these are the kind of unappealing offers he’ll get in free agency, Bridgewater may as well stick around another year in New Orleans. He’s just 27, and can afford to wait for Brees to move on before taking the reins of a stacked roster and a steady organization.

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