NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – OCTOBER 06: Teddy Bridgewater #5 of the New Orleans Saints looks to pass during the first half of a NFL game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the Mercedes Benz Superdome on October 06, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
Teddy Bridgewater is playing himself into a starting opportunity while Drew Brees is out, and these five teams should have interest in signing him next March.
Teddy Bridgewater could have gone somewhere with a clear opportunity to start the last offseason, but he chose to stay at the side of Drew Brees and Sean Payton with the New Orleans Saints as the No. 2 quarterback. With Brees at 40 years old and entering the final year of his contract, with no concrete public plans regarding his future, it didn’t require any squinting to see Bridgewater as his successor.
But Bridgewater has gotten an opportunity sooner than that. Brees suffered a thumb injury in Week 2 against the Los Angeles Rams and missed his third straight game Sunday as he’s expected to miss six weeks. Brees is already throwing, so he may be able to return sooner than expected.
Bridgewater started in Week 3, he was simply a caretaker (19-for-27 for 177 yards and two touchdowns) as the Saints’ scored two non-offensive touchdowns to win a tough road game against the Seattle Seahawks. Week 4 was similar, as Bridgewater completed 23 of 30 passes for 193 yards with an interception as New Orleans rode a stellar defensive effort to a home win over the Dallas Cowboys.
But the Saints took the reigns off Bridgewater on Sunday, against a softer pass defense. He finished 26-for-34 for 314 yards with four touchdowns and an interception as New Orleans won their third straight game.
How many more starts Bridgewater will get this season is an open question. But he has looked healthy in his first meaningful action after a career-altering knee injury in 2016. More importantly, he has played himself into an opportunity to start as he gets set to hit free agency again next March.
These five teams should be looking to sign Bridgewater next offseason.
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Jameis Winston has been reasonably good so far, but he’s in a make or break year and the Buccaneers are not committed to him beyond this season. If they win a fair amount of games but still want to let Winston leave, they may not be in the mix to get one of the top-tier quarterbacks in the 2020 draft.
One potential issue is Bridgewater’s fit in the “no risk it, no biscuit” downfield-tilted passing offense Buccaneers’ head coach Bruce Arians favors. For all of his intangible strengths, Bridgewater is limited physically, definitely lacks great arm strength and has shown an aversion to cutting it loose downfield even with the situation might dictate it.
But as a team who has at least a coin flip’s chance to be in the market for a veteran starting quarterback in the offseason, Tampa Bay is on this list of possible suitors for Bridgewater.