By Jordan Long
The Carolina Panthers traded with the New York Jets to get quarterback Sam Darnold. The Jets received a 6th round draft pick this year plus a 2nd and 4th round pick in 2022. The Jets will probably be looking at a quarterback in the 1st round which is the 2nd overall pick in the draft. For the Panthers, they may look to deal quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. Among the teams who might be interested are the Denver Broncos, New England Patriots, and Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Denver Broncos need a veteran quarterback. That has been a requirement this offseason. The Broncos so far haven’t done anything at the quarterback position. This could be the time to make a swap, even for draft picks, for Bridgewater.
The Broncos reportedly called the Panthers before they delt for Darnold, but failed to reach an agreement on a trade. The Broncos might as well call them again. With Darnold in Carolina, the Panthers could be more interested in letting Bridgewater go. The Broncos may be the perfect landing spot. Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur likes to use play-action. Bridgewater can run that type of offensive style. Bridgewater can also run when he needs to. He would be the perfect fit. This would be the answer to pushing Lock to earn the starting position.
Bridgewater’s current deal would work into the Broncos’ cap space. The Broncos have around $29.279 million to work with. Bridgewater’s cap hit is $22.911 million this year. Denver would want that cap hit lowered, but the Broncos would be a good landing spot. Denver may possibly pass to acquire Bridgewater since there are other quarterbacks in free agency left including Alex Smith, Blake Bortles, and Blaine Gabbert who could be cheaper than Bridgewater.
The New England Patriots are in the same boat as Denver. They need a veteran backup quarterback for Cam Newton. Newton and Bridgewater are the same type of quarterback. They can both scramble to buy more time to throw the football or gain yards. The playbook wouldn’t change when Bridgewater is on the field if anything happens to Newton.
The Patriots don’t have the cap space at this time for Bridgewater. They have around $12.828 million left in cap space. The Patriots would need to restructure his current contract as well as others on the team for them to get Bridgewater. New England makes a lot of sense but for now, they should stay away because of the cap hit. They could draft a quarterback or look for a free agent quarterback who isn’t as expensive.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a team that doesn’t make a lot of sense for Bridgewater. They have a backup quarterback who played in the league in Dwayne Haskins. He can prove to be the backup to Ben Roethlisberger. The other quarterback on the roster, Mason Rudolph, started 9 games for the Steelers in his 2-year career. Rudolph showed he can be the quarterback of the future. He is 5-4 in the games he has started. In his career to this point Rudolph passed for 2,089 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. With more playing time he will improve his game.
The Panthers will do what they feel is best for the team moving forward. It makes more sense for Bridgewater to stay put. It couldn’t hurt to have two quarterbacks on the roster who have played in the NFL. The Panthers should let training camp and preseason games decide who will be the starting quarterback on the team between Bridgewater and Darnold. The only way they trade Bridgewater is if an offer is too good to pass up.
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