NFL: Teddy Bridgewater is in a Perfect Situation Behind Drew Brees
Looking into the Jets-Saints trade that sent Teddy Bridgewater to New Orleans. Fans of the former Louisville star should be VERY happy.
In the same way Sam Bradford is holding the place for Josh Rosen in Arizona, Teddy Bridgewater, at best, was signed by the New York Jets to do the same. When he signed his one-year deal to come to New York in March, the team knew they’d be drafting a quarterback. Bridgewater was merely an insurance policy for the off-chance Sam Darnold wasn’t ready for Week 1. Now, however, we know Darnold is ready for the job, leading to the Jets to ship Teddy to the New Orleans Saints.
As part of the deal, the Jets also sent a sixth-round pick (2019) in exchange for the Saints’ third-round pick in 2019.
With Teddy Bridgewater traded to the Saints, #NYJets QB Sam Darnold is set to start Week 1! #NFL (via @RapSheet) pic.twitter.com/nxbkjiE3a7
— FanSided (@FanSided) August 29, 2018
Like you see from the tweet above, folks are obviously excited to see Sam Darnold save the Jets. But what about Teddy Bridgewater? Sucks that he’s going to be a back-up quarterback, right? Wrong. Having Drew Brees ahead of you on the depth chart, at this point, is awesome for several reasons.
For starters, Bridgewater is only 25-years old with a ton of talent and intelligence; his career is just getting started. I mean, Kurt Warner didn’t have his best years until he was deep in his 20’s. Having said that, he can afford to sit behind Drew Brees for a few seasons. He’ll learn things from Brees that guys like Josh McCown and Case Keenum never could have offered. After all, Brees has done what Teddy is trying to do: come back from a MAJOR injury and excel. Brees, in case you don’t remember, tore his labrum in Week 17 of the 2005 NFL season and was famously passed over by the Miami Dolphins because of it. Since then, well, you know how that’s turned out.
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Additionally, besides all the knowledge he’ll pass to Teddy, Brees is 39-years old and not too far away from ending his NFL career. But because he’s such a good player, even at his age, the Saints won’t be getting any top-notch quarterbacks in the NFL Draft. The situation plays right into Bridgewater’s hands: New Orleans will be his team if he plays his cards right. After a few seasons in The Big Easy, he’ll have built trust and will have the team’s complete respect.
From what we’ve seen, Bridgewater has taken major strides in his rehab. Colin Cowherd, host of The Herd with Colin Cowherd on FS1, even thinks he’s “a little better” than Darnold right now.
"The Jets don't have a pass rusher… Do you go to the Raiders and say we'll give you draft picks, we want Khalil Mack."@ColinCowherd reacts to the Jets trading Teddy Bridgewater pic.twitter.com/XgNDwv8DxI
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) August 29, 2018
Taysom Hill, the other quarterback on New Orleans that looks to be in their future, is a good runner but not nearly as good through the air as Teddy Bridgewater. Plus, Teddy has shown he’s still mobile enough to be effectice.
Teddy Bridgewater avoids the rush and converts the first down pic.twitter.com/yu3fzKbmeS
— Steve Palazzolo (@PFF_Steve) August 17, 2018
Unfortunately, it looks like this trade makes former Rutgers QB Tom Savage the odd-man out. Don’t get me wrong, the dude deserves a job in the NFL but New Orleans isn’t the right fit. Like the Jets did with Bridgewater, the Saints will likely move Savage to a team in need of a quarterback. Per NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, Savage is among the quarterbacks getting interest in the current trade market.
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