Teddy Bridgewater has a great thing going with the New Orleans Saints. He proved to be someone they can win with in 2019, winning all five of his starts in relief of Drew Brees, and he’s well within the prime of his career (having celebrated his 27th birthday back in November). Brees could retire any year now, opening the door for Bridgewater to take over one of the NFL’s deepest and most-talented rosters.
But what if another team convinces him to leave in free agency? Bridgewater’s contract is up just like the other Saints quarterbacks, and he should get an opportunity to test the open market and see what kind of offers are out there. He owes it to himself to see which starting jobs may be up for grabs.
The second part of this question is: which teams could be interested in Bridgewater? Some of the quarterback-needy teams around the league are locked in on top draft prospects, like the Cincinnati Bengals (tied to LSU Tigers passer Joe Burrow with the first-overall pick) and the Miami Dolphins (who have been connected to Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa for months). It’s possible that pickings will be just as slim for Bridgewater this summer as it was last year. But here are four teams with uncertain quarterback situations we’ll be watching in the months ahead.
Chicago Bears
Actions speak louder than words, and Bears general manager Ryan Pace (ironically an ex-Saints executive) has proven that to be true before. He inked a three-year, $45 million contract with Mike Glennon back in 2017, publicly committed to Glennon as the team’s starter, and then traded up in the draft to select Mitchell Trubisky. Glennon was benched by Week 5 in favor of Trubisky, who is still around and playing far below expectations. Pace has recommitted to Trubisky earlier this offseason, but would it really be so shocking if he went back on his word again?
He got a first-row seat at Bridgewater’s performance against the vaunted Bears defense last season, in which the Saints backup went 23-of-38 for 281 yards, completing passes at a rate of 7.39 yards per attempt and standing tall in the face of a Bears pass-rush handpicked by Pace the last few years. Bridgewater arguably had a better game at Soldier Field than Trubisky turned in all year, and the Bears should be a team to watch when free agency kicks off.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Has Jameis Winston peaked? He’s thrown nearly as many interceptions as touchdown passes in his last year with the Buccaneers, frustrating head coach Bruce Arians to no end. Arians has a reputation as a quarterback whisperer but his first year with Winston could have shown him enough to decide that it’s time to pull the plug.
As luck would have it, Arians was on hand to see Bridgewater’s best game of the year, back in Week 5 at the Superdome. Arians watched Bridgewater outduel his own quarterback by completing 26-of-34 pass attempts (an absurd 76.47%) for 314 yards through the air, scoring four touchdown passes against just one interception. Bridgewater protected the ball well all year, but that big day might have left an impression. On some level, maybe Arians thinks he can get Bridgewater to play that aggressively every week.
Indianapolis Colts
The Colts knew it would be tough to ride out the 2019 season without Andrew Luck under center, but Jacoby Brissett was still an uninspiring fill-in. Injuries dogged the receiving corps all season long, but he still struggled to consistently move the ball even when working with a full arsenal of pass-catchers. If faced with the choice to commit serious salary cap resources to Brissett or Bridgewater, the decision should be crystal-clear for Colts general manager Chris Ballard.
However, Ballard has largely been content to stand pat in free agency, letting his salary cap space build and build while choosing to build through the draft instead. They have the draft capital to make a bold move up the board for a potential franchise quarterback (possessing picks Nos. 13, 34, 44, and 75), but those resources may be better spent at other positions if they can upgrade with Bridgewater. The Colts can’t be ruled out.
Los Angeles Chargers
Jake Roth-USA TODAY SportsSeveral teams could be poised to move on longtime, franchise quarterbacks this offseason, and the Chargers might be the most likely. Philip Rivers has toiled for years, largely thanklessly, playing at a high level and enduring some of the strangest losses and most-questionable ownership decisions in league history. If a Super Bowl-contending team closer to Rivers’ home turf in the Southeast wants to upgrade, he could very well bolt for greener pastures.
If that happens, the Chargers could make sense as a landing-spot for Bridgewater. They have a nice receiving corps and well-stocked defense to win right away, and will be undergoing a dramatic change of scenery when they move into SoFi Stadium with the Los Angeles Rams later this year. Signing Bridgewater as the new face of the franchise would be a logical turning-of-the-page for the Chargers.
New England Patriots
Will Tom Brady really leave the Patriots? It’s possible, even if it would be wild to see. If No. 12’s days are over in New England, the Patriots don’t really have a successor to tab in-house. And Bridgewater’s proven (if limited) success in New Orleans could entice Bill Belichick to make a recruiting call in free agency.
That might be the biggest coup of all the teams listed here. Belichick is the longest-tenured coach in the NFL, and the addition of Bridgewater could make the smooth passing-of-the-torch from Brady to Bridgewater that Sean Payton might be hoping for with the Saints. It’s the sort of easy transition that all teams hope for but few are able to execute.
It’s also significantly more difficult to picture Bridgewater having as much fun in the notoriously-joyless Patriots organization as he’s enjoyed with the Saints. But Belichick has made bold, landscape-changing moves before, and his team is one dark horse that is impossible to overlook.
