An injury that looked to be career ending. Doubt and disbelief by their original team. Getting traded to the New Orleans Saints. These occurrences are shared by both Drew Brees and Teddy Bridgewater. Their injuries were different with Brees having a devastating shoulder injury, and Bridgewater almost losing his leg. Their paths getting to New Orleans, however, were fairly similar.
Teddy Bridgewater Is the Next Drew Brees
Path to New Orleans
In the last game of 2005, Drew Brees suffered one of the worst non-leg injuries that have happened in the NFL. Playing the Denver Broncos, he was sacked by John Lynch and hit while he was on the ground by Gerard Warren. The then San Diego Chargers quarterback tore his labrum and the instant thought was that his arm would never be the same. After the Chargers refused to increase their offer to Brees, he started to look around. Looking for more guaranteed money than what was offered by the Chargers, Brees had two leading interested teams. The Miami Dolphins balked for similar reasons to why the Chargers did and went with Daunte Culpepper instead. The Saints were the other team and gave Brees a deal that would change football in New Orleans.
Bridgewater was taken with the 32nd pick in the 2014 draft. With the first round pick, the Minnesota Vikings were hoping to have found their franchise quarterback. Bridgewater looked to be a great find with the pick. After a quietly efficient rookie year, he led the team to an 11-5 record, while completing 65.3 percent of his passes. Then in a 2016 preseason practice, Bridgewater suffered a major non-contact injury to his left knee. A torn ACL and dislocated knee joint led to a recovery window of around 18 months. With the emergence of Case Keenum in 2017, Bridgewater remained the backup after receiving medical clearance. He signed with the Jets before the 2018 season, although that didn’t last long. He was recently traded along with a sixth-round pick to the Saints for a third rounder.
What to Expect – The Last Word
Bridgewater arrives in New Orleans with an incredible mentor to learn from. Brees is nearing retirement, although his skill doesn’t seem to be diminishing. At only 25, Bridgewater has time to grow and develop under Brees. Although Bridgewater will be a free agent after 2018, the Saints should look to sign him to a longer deal. Brees is only signed through 2019 and will be 41 heading into the 2020 season. If Bridgewater will agree to sit and learn until his 27-year-old season, the Saints will have found themselves another great quarterback. The career-ending injury is a thing of the past and Bridgewater looks to be healthy and arguably better than before. With 10-15 years left in his career, the Saints have struck gold again, as Teddy Bridgewater is the next Drew Brees.
