Matt Rhule acknowledges Teddy Bridgewater is not Panthers QB of the future
It's not all that surprising, but Teddy Bridgewater is clearly not the Carolina Panthers quarterback of the future
The Carolina Panthers had a 5-11 record in Matt Rhule’s first season as head coach, with four losses in their last five games and nine losses in their last 11. It was not going to be a quick fix, and Teddy Bridgewater was easy to see as a bridge quarterback. Yes, they gave him a three-year, $63 million deal ($33 million guaranteed) last offseason. But a bridge is still a bridge.
After a career-altering leg injury with the Minnesota Vikings late in the 2016 preseason, Bridgewater is a great story. Some Vikings’ fans and analysts still like to lament the circumstance, leaning on intangibles to create their case Bridgewater is better than Kirk Cousins.
Bridgewater started 15 games this season, missing a Week 11 win over the Detroit Lions with a knee injury. He completed 69.1 percent of his passes for 3,733 yards (248.9 yards per game) with 15 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
The injury in Week 10 provides a notable split in Bridgewater’s season. Note that he had five rushing touchdowns on the season.
First 10 games: 255.2 passing yards per game, 72.1 percent completion rate, 13 TD, 7 INT, 98.7 passer rating, 19 sacks taken
Final 5 games: 236.2 passing yards per game, 62.96 percent completion rate, 2 TD, 4 INT, 78.8 passer rating, 12 sacks taken
Rhule acknowledged the drop in Bridgewater’s play, and put him on notice in one fair swoop.
Bridgewater was removed from a 33-7 Week 17 loss to the New Orleans Saints, as Rhule suggested an ankle injury was a factor above poor performance. But he could have been benched for poor play (13-for-23 for 176 yards and 2 INT), and the injury feels convenient to lean to.
If you want to say Bridgewater’s first 10 games this season were the best he can do, that output is merely average overall. He said will conduct himself as if the Panthers are “his team”, but a quarterback will be in play for the Panthers with the eighth overall pick in April.
Bridgewater’s contract, with a $23 million cap hit for 2021 and no palatable way out ($20 million in dead money if he’s cut), will keep him in Carolina next season. He would be a fairly expensive backup if he can’t win the starting job, but there is value in having a credible No. 2 quarterback who can step in.
Rhule has laid the early groundwork for a competition, and Bridgewater is in line to have to win the starting job. With a new GM coming in, the Panthers seem ready to kick over a lot of stones to try to add talent to the quarterback room this offseason.
Bridgewater, 28, may have several years left in his NFL career. But he was never easy to see as the quarterback of the future in Carolina, and Rhule has not promised anything heading into the offseason. Bridgewater’s travels since Minnesota (New York Jets, New Orleans Saints, the Panthers) are set to add a few more stops after 2021. Such is life for a backup-caliber quarterback, and Rhule only needed 15 games to see it (if that long?).
As for Bridgewater’s perceived clutch gene, the Panthers lost eight games by one score or less this season, with an opportunity for a drive to at least tie the game all eight times. They went 0-for-8 in those situations. Rhule had some game management mistakes, and opportunities were missed that weren’t necessarily Bridgewater’s fault (missed field goals, etc.) But the broader point sticks.
Christian McCaffrey’s absence for all but three games was a big thing, and Curtis Samuel’s rushing production (200 yards, 2 TD) has to be acknowledged in the note I’m about to unveil. But an offense that ranked 24th in scoring and 21st in total yardage was not a function of lacking talent, and the Panthers weren’t impeccably bad in sacks allowed or sack rate. Great credit goes to offensive coordinator Joe Brady, who to no surprise is getting head coaching looks.
Via The Charlotte Observer last month after GM Marty Hurney was let go, Panthers owner David Tepper also knows what type of quarterback Bridgewater is.
“It’s an ongoing process and it’s a question of who can be that guy that can help you win. That’s the most important position on the field,” Tepper said. “Unless you have that guy for sure that gets you to playoffs and Super Bowls, you have to keep reevaluating that because that’s the only thing that matters is Super Bowls. And until you have that guy, you’re evaluating, evaluating, evaluating every year.”
That qualifies as an internal indictment of Bridgewater as a high-end talent, even in the shadow of any lingering potential he might have. I’d like to welcome the Carolina Panthers organization to the bandwagon.