As of Wednesday, Teddy Bridgewater is the Carolina Panthers starting quarterback.
Panthers coach Matt Rhule said so Wednesday afternoon, as did new general manager Scott Fitterer. Bridgewater is the guy right now and remains under contract for two more years after signing a three-year, $63 million year last offseason. Those are the facts. That doesn’t mean honest conversations haven’t been had.
While rumors and reports of trades have circulated the internet and a certain quarterback down in Texas has caught some eyes in Carolina, information about the team’s future at the position has been the biggest area of intrigue. What about Deshaun Watson? Taking a quarterback in the draft? Trading Bridgewater?
Clarity would be welcome for multiple parties, but those are options still on the table. The future isn’t set.
“I think (Teddy’s) controlling what he can control, and he’s having a great offseason, I’m sure. I can’t wait to get him back here, and I think he’s determined to play his best football next year,” Rhule said. “As far as where he stands with us, he’s our quarterback. Nothing’s changed since the end of the offseason.
“... We’re going to continue to try to improve the roster at every position through free agency, through the draft and also through development. We expect players to play better this year than they played last year, we expect coaches to coach better this year than we did last year, and that’s at every position.”
Fitterer and Rhule said they have talked with Bridgewater, and the general manager shared that they spoke with the quarterback about the fact that he was a part of a trade offer the team made — which included sending multiple picks to the Detroit Lions for Matthew Stafford, although Fitterer didn’t get into the offer specifically. With his name publicly reported as on the trading block for Carolina, amidst what Rhule and Fitterer classified as misinformation floating about, the team was honest about what was going on.
“He handled it with total class, he was upfront,” Fitterer said of Bridgewater. “He’s been through a lot of things in his life, and he handled it like a total pro.”
This is a team with only so many quarterback options. Option 1 is Deshaun Watson, someone who has become a target of team owner David Tepper, per league sources. The Houston Texans have shown no interest in trading Watson up to this point, despite what Watson and many teams around the NFL may want, although eventually he and the Texans may be forced to part ways. If he was to be traded, the price could be historically high and the Panthers would be in the mix.
Someone like Christian McCaffrey, however, may not be on the trading block for the Panthers with Rhule referring to him as “one of the fundamental pieces of this team” and “a guy that we’re building around, we’re committed to.”
But Wednesday, Rhule mentioned how this team is not one player away from contending for a championship, something that would make giving up too much for someone like Watson a trickier task. Offensive line and cornerback came up multiple times as areas that need to be addressed. A poor offensive line to protect a quarterback, even with a player like Watson, is not a recipe for success.
The team is also not expecting to spend big in free agency, outside of placing the franchise tag on right tackle Taylor Moton on Tuesday, partly due to the reduced salary cap this year even after restructuring the contracts of McCaffrey and linebacker Shaq Thompson this week. Although, kicking money down the road is not something this front office plans on doing often.
“I think we’re in a situation right now where we’re not just one player away, we’re trying to do a really good job of continuing to build the nucleus of the team,” Rhule said. “Obviously, the situation this year is a little hard with our cap number. So again, I think that’s why I think we have to be targeted (in free agency).”
Another option if Watson doesn’t work out is the draft. The Panthers hold the eighth overall pick, which will make things a bit more difficult, but all options are on the table with as many as five quarterbacks expected to be taken in the first round.
The 2021 NFL draft is over a month and a half away. Next on the agenda is attending Pro Days, with North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance up Friday, to see the players throw in person — the only opportunity to do so without a traditional Combine this year due to COVID-19. Rhule and Fitterer will be in attendance for some Pro Days, depending on interest, scheduling or who the team may like to meet in person.
But that doesn’t cancel Bridgewater out from returning as it would give a young quarterback a mentor to learn from who has seen every side of the NFL.
“There’s not a better person in the locker room, there’s not a better person to have on the team,” Rhule said. “I think most of the guys would say that. There’s no concern there, no matter what’s thrown at Teddy Bridgewater, he’s going to take it on, just like he took on his knee injury. He’s a quality, quality, quality, person.”
Teams have called with interest in trading for Bridgewater. The options in free agency when the new league year begins next week are limited at quarterback and looking at QBs, in general, is something Fitterer says he’ll do every year.
A year ago at this time, there were a lot of nice things being said by Rhule about another quarterback, Cam Newton, before a decision was made to part ways. A lot can happen in a short amount of time.
