Could former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater end up being sent to the Denver Broncos to reunite with some familiar faces?
Teddy Bridgewater was supposed to be the quarterback to help the Minnesota Vikings win their first-ever Super Bowl. But thanks to some bad luck, injuries got in the way of Bridgewater being able to help the Vikings capture their ultimate goal.
Now almost five years removed from suffering a freak injury during Minnesota’s last practice of the 2016 preseason, the former Vikings quarterback doesn’t know where he’s going to end up next.
His current team, the Carolina Panthers, just traded away a bunch of draft picks to acquire Sam Darnold from the New York Jets. So the assumption is that the Panthers will be parting ways with Bridgewater before the start of the 2021 season.
Could some former Minnesota Vikings be interested in adding Teddy Bridgewater to the Denver Broncos?
Minnesota has a number of connections with various teams throughout the NFL and one that has recently begun to fill with a bunch of familiar faces is the Denver Broncos.
This shouldn’t be a surprise, however, since the Broncos’ new general manager, George Paton, spent the previous 14 years of his life working for the Vikings. But Denver also has someone on their current coaching staff who could be interested in adding Bridgewater to the team’s quarterback room.
Pat Shurmur was a part of Minnesota’s coaching staff in 2016 and 2017, first as a tight ends coach, and then as the team’s offensive coordinator for the final year and a half of his tenure. He’s currently the Broncos offensive coordinator.
Shurmur was on the Vikings practice field when Bridgewater suffered his brutal leg injury in 2016 and he’s spoken highly of the former Minnesota quarterback in the past.
KUSA Denver’s Mike Klis recently reported that the Broncos are interested in making a trade with Carolina to acquire Bridgewater. But Klis mentions that Denver would only agree to a deal if the Panthers would pay part of the quarterback’s salary to reduce his 2021 cap hit, which would currently be more than $15 million for the Broncos if they landed him in a trade.
Denver is one of the few places in the NFL right now where Bridgewater might actually still be able to compete for a starting job. Most don’t believe Broncos aren’t completely sold on Drew Lock being their long-term starter under center and trading for the former Vikings passer would certainly make their lack of confidence in Lock very clear.
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So will Paton and Shurmur end up adding their third former Minnesota player to Denver this offseason to go with Mike Boone and Shamar Stephen? It certainly sounds like it’s one of the more realistic possibilities when it comes to Bridgewater.