Teddy Bridgewater, New Orleans Saints. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
Teddy Bridgewater may have several suitors in his free agency, but if he goes to the New England Patriots, that could be disastrous for both parties.
Teddy will need more than two gloves to win big in Foxborough.
Not since he suffered a gruesome, nearly career-ending injury in the final week of 2016 training camp has quarterback Teddy Bridgewater had this great an opportunity to be a starting quarterback. Bridgewater miraculously recovered from his knee injury with the Minnesota Vikings, finding success as Drew Brees‘ backup with the New Orleans Saints last season.
The former Louisville Cardinals signal-caller went 5-0 last year for the Saints after Brees busted his thumb in Week 2’s road loss to the Los Angeles Rams. With enough evidence to show he’s back to good and close to the player he was coming out of Louisville, Bridgewater can now be an effective bridge starter for an NFL team in transition.
Though teams like the Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears, Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Chargers and Tennessee Titans all make sense, Bridgewater would be foolish if he were to replace Tom Brady with the New England Patriots. Going to Foxborough is an awful entry point for a guy looking to revamp his career as a starting quarterback. There’s too much pressure.
By going to New England, Bridgewater might have the lowest ceiling of any starting quarterback in the division. Sam Darnold of the New York Jets and Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills were top-10 picks, while Bridgewater went No. 32 to the Vikings in 2014. The Miami Dolphins are expected to take either Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa or Oregon’s Justin Herbert with their top-five selection.
In short, Bridgewater has overcome too much in his football life to willingly go into a situation that isn’t winnable for him. He’s better off replacing the likes of Ryan Tannehill, Jameis Winston or Cam Newton or taking a starting job from Jacoby Brissett or Mitchell Trubisky than to be the next Patriots quarterback after Brady.