The Carolina Panthers have seemed to officially move on from Cam Newton as their starting quarterback. On Tuesday, the Panthers signed quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to a three year contract worth $63 million.
Currently, Bridgewater is set to make $40 million over the first two seasons of the contract. Then in 2022, he is set to make $23 million.
Is this is a risk for the Panthers to give Bridgewater a gigantic contract for the long term? The answer is absolutely. In five National Football League seasons, Bridgewater has only played one full season. That was with the Minnesota Vikings in 2015. The last two seasons he has been the regular backup to Drew Brees in New Orleans.
However even though Bridgewater, a native of Miami, Florida, played only five games for New Orleans in 2019, he won them all. After coming in for Drew Brees who tore a ligament in his thumb against the Los Angeles Rams in week two, Bridgewater provided the Saints a steady presence. He helped beat the Seattle Seahawks 33-27, the Dallas Cowboys 12-10, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-24, the Jacksonville Jaguars 13-6 and the Chicago Bears 36-25. In nine games, Bridgewater completed 133 passes in 196 attempts for 1384 yards, nine touchdowns and two interceptions. He also had 28 rushes for 31 yards.
Still, in Bridgewater’s four seasons prior to 2019, he had only 29 starts (28 with the Vikings). The Panthers will also hope Bridgewater rekindles the magic he displayed in Minnesota during the 2015 NFL season when he went to the Pro Bowl. That year he completed 292 passes for 447 attempts, 3231 yards, 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
It would not be surprising if the Panthers would like to see some more mobility in Bridgewater’s overall game. His 31 rushing yards was a significant drop to the 209 yards rushing he had with the Vikings in 2014 and the 192 yards rushing with the Vikings in 2015.
With the Panthers showing commitment to Bridgewater, it will be mighty interesting to see where Newton ends up in 2020. The veteran quarterback who has been at the helm in Carolina since 2011, has $19.1 million left on his contract. It is also expected that Kyle Allen will resume backup duties in Carolina in 2020. Allen played 13 games with the Panthers in 2019 while Newton was out with a foot injury.
