Matt Loede
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Carolina Panthers quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has already gone out of his way to unfollow the Panthers on social media, and he now may be looking to join a team out west that reportedly has interest in bringing him in as a backup.
That team is the San Francisco 49ers, who have watched Jimmy Garoppolo have issues making it through an entire season without getting hurt.
The 49ers are just fine with Garoppolo as their quarterback, but that doesn’t mean they want to be left in a tough spot should he get hurt.
Last season, he played in only six games, and except for the 16 games he played in the Niners’ Super Bowl year, Garoppolo has played in only 15 games over four seasons.
Which is why it would make sense for the team to get a quarterback like Bridgewater, who has plenty of veteran experience and could slide in should Garoppolo get hurt.
Carolina is reportedly one of the teams in the mix for unhappy Houston quarterback Deshaun Watson, but even if they don’t get Watson, the club is likely to move on from Bridgewater.
The Athletic reports that the Niners have made a phone call to the Panthers about Bridgewater, and it sounds like the quarterback could be had for the right price.
Last season, Bridgewater was just 4-11 as a starter, throwing for 15 touchdowns and 11 picks. Having him as a backup isn’t a bad idea for the Niners. Now it depends on what the Panthers want back for him.
This would be a great pickup. I’m high on Bridgewater simply for his accuracy (66.5% career). QBs either have accuracy or they don’t. There’s not much room to improve accuracy. Josh Allen’s sudden improvement was an extreme exception. That doesn’t happen often. Accuracy is a rare find to just give up on. I don’t get it personally.
Bridgewater completed 69% of passes on an offense missing its main weapon and having no run game with ability to control the clock. He also played well for NO two seasons ago off the bench. Bridgewater can play. I think Carolina should stick with him one more year with a healthy McCaffrey. The Panther offense is close to being one of the best with only a couple tweaks. Teams now panic to find Mahomes 2 so much that their loyalty to a QB is by the drive. That’s stupid. As an example, Aaron Rodgers’ job was even questioned last year! Get ready to watch a lot of desperately dumb QB moves this year reacting to Brady’s success.
Yes he completed 69% which is great, but they were all short to intermediate throws. Robby Anderson and Curtis Samuel were catching passes 3 yards from the line of scrimmage and DJ Moore was left out in the cold. I agree that the Panthers are close. They are an above average QB away from having a top 5 offense when healthy. I wouldn’t say the run game was non existent either. Obviously it’s not the same without McCaffrey but Mike Davis did a great job filling in. I’m really interested in this Panthers team, but Teddy isn’t the answer.