Teddy Bridgewater could see his time in Carolina end sooner than expected
By Adam Patrick
The former Minnesota Vikings quarterback has struggled during the second half of the season.
Five games into the 2020 season, former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was off to an impressive start as the new starting signal-caller for the Carolina Panthers.
The Panthers were able to win three of their first five matchups as Bridgewater completed 73.5 percent of his passes for 1,460 yards (292 average), six touchdowns, three interceptions, and a 101.9 quarterback rating.
But in his last seven starts, Carolina hasn’t come away with a single win while Bridgewater has seen his passing yards per game average (down to 234.6), completion percentage (68.6), and passer rating (91.6) head in the wrong direction.
Will the Carolina Panthers stick with the former Minnesota Vikings quarterback?
With the Panthers’ struggles during the second half of the season with Bridgewater under center, some are starting to wonder how much longer he will remain the team’s No. 1 quarterback.
With a 4-9 record heading into Week 15, Carolina would have the No. 6 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft if the season ended today. If the Panthers actually did end up with the No. 6 selection in next year’s draft, it wouldn’t be surprising at all if they decided to pick a quarterback.
While top passing prospects like Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields are expected to come off of the board within the first few selections of the 2021 draft, other young quarterbacks like Zach Wilson and Trey Lance should still be around by the No. 6 pick.
If either Wilson or Lance is still available whenever it comes time for Carolina to make their first selection of next year’s draft, would they pull the trigger and pick one of these two passing prospects? Based on the team’s performance with Bridgewater leading the way this season, it might be a good decision for the Panthers to make.
Due to the terms of his current contract, Bridgewater will still probably remain with Carolina in 2021. But it wouldn’t be shocking if the Panthers benched him during the middle of next season in favor of a rookie quarterback.
Based on everything that’s gone on so far this year, Carolina drafting a quarterback with their first-round selection and grooming them to be the team’s starter in 2022 seems like a very believable scenario.