New Orleans Saints backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater met with the Miami Dolphins on a free agent visit, but decided he’s not ready to move on from the black and gold. He and the Saints settled on a one-year, fully-guaranteed $7.25 million contract extension to keep him in town. Adam Schefter of ESPN first reported the agreement. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported that incentives within the contract raise its maximum value to $12.5 million.
This $7.25 million base salary is in line with what a highly-drafted quarterback would receive in the NFL’s slotted contract system. Cleveland Browns sensation Baker Mayfield, last year’s top overall draft pick, will make a little over $8.1 million in 2019. The third overall pick, Sam Darnold of the New York Jets, will bring in about $7.6 million.
This is tremendous news for New Orleans, even if it schedules them for further negotiations with Bridgewater in the 2020 offseason. He gets another year of practice reps alongside Drew Brees, they get another year to further evaluate him, and the market for free agent starting-caliber quarterbacks has a year to reset itself. It was clear early in the 2019 negotiating window that few opportunities were out there for Bridgewater, so returning makes sense.
