There are several starting-caliber quarterbacks set to hit free agency, and none more interesting than Teddy Bridgewater. Once seen as the franchise savior for the Minnesota Vikings, Bridgewater suffered a gruesome knee injury and nearly lost his career. However, the former first-round pick is fully recovered and ready to earn a starting job. With Drew Brees coming back for at least one more season, a reunion in New Orleans appears unlikely. Let’s take a look around the league and see which teams could be interested in making Bridgewater their next franchise quarterback.
2020 NFL Free Agency: Teddy Bridgewater Team Fits
Indianapolis Colts
The best fit is probably the Indianapolis Colts. General manager Chris Ballard did a fantastic job building a competitive roster while maintaining the financial flexibility to sign just about anyone. Following Andrew Luck’s surprise retirement, Jacoby Brissett had a chance to win the starting job going forward. While he showed some signs of life, he’s ultimately not a long-term fix for the position. Bridgewater could be, and the Colts have the cap space to pay Bridgewater whatever it takes to make him sign.
The Colts currently own the 13th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. With this positioning, they probably won’t be able to draft a guy like Joe Burrow or Tua Tagovailoa. The Colts have a championship-caliber roster, but just need a competent quarterback calling the shots. Bridgewater could be that guy, and should bring the Colts back to the playoffs as soon as 2020.
Miami Dolphins
Teddy Bridgewater might not want to go to Miami, but the Dolphins should have plenty of interest in him. Last year, the Dolphins attempted to sign Bridgewater to be their starter, but he politely declined. Now that Brian Flores proved his ability as a head coach, Miami might seem like a much more enjoyable landing spot. Miami’s roster is currently a mess, but the Dolphins have a seemingly endless supply of draft picks and cap space. They have the ability to create a competent roster in the next year or two, and the AFC East is up for grabs if Tom Brady leaves the Patriots.
The Dolphins probably want to draft their quarterback of the future, but they’re not exactly in an ideal position to do that. Joe Burrow is presumably going to the Bengals with the first-overall pick, and the rest of the quarterbacks have a lot of questions. Tua Tagovailoa can’t stay healthy, Justin Herbert has a few red flags, and all the other quarterbacks probably shouldn’t be starting out of the gate. Bridgewater gives the Dolphins a safe, dependable answer at quarterback, even if he doesn’t have the youth or the highest ceiling.
Las Vegas Raiders
The Las Vegas Raiders clearly want to move on from Derek Carr. While Carr isn’t the worst quarterback by any stretch, his obnoxiously conservative style of quarterbacking limits the overall potential of an offense. Bridgewater isn’t the most aggressive signal-caller by any means, but he’s a step above Carr. The Raiders won’t usurp the Chiefs for divisional dominance any time soon, but a better quarterback could put them in the thick of the wild card hunt.
Carolina Panthers
As far as the quarterback position is concerned, the Carolina Panthers are in a similar situation to the Indianapolis Colts. Cam Newton might not ever be his old self again, Kyle Allen is nothing more than a solid backup, and Will Grier looked terrible as a rookie. The Panthers currently have the seventh pick in the NFL Draft and probably won’t have the chance to get their desired quarterback of the future.
Signing Bridgewater allows the Panthers to have a short-term answer on the roster. Carolina’s roster is littered with holes, and they’re not one player away from competing. Signing Bridgewater allows the team to remain relatively competitive and use draft capital to fill out the rest of the roster.
Honorable Mentions: Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New England Patriots, Tennessee Titans
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