Saints 2019: Offseason priorities, the case for Teddy Bridgewater
By Tony Twillie
Where does that leave Bridgewater and the Saints?
All this is to say the options for Teddy are limited. Washington is intriguing because they are going to be on the hook for Alex Smith’s contract for several seasons to come, even though he may never play again. They can’t really afford to pay big money for a QB, so Foles AND Flacco may be out. Bridgewater offers an attractive option at a reasonable price. The Saints would likely be out of the bidding for his services if the Redskins begin to offer him.
If Miami moves away from Tannehill, again, Miami becomes an interesting place. The Redskins are reportedly interested in Tannehill, which could open up the Dolphins job. Bridgewater would go into a battle with younger QBs with no starting experience and whichever stud rookie the Dolphins draft. They aren’t likely to keep Brock Osweiler around. And Miami is where Bridgewater is from, so the opportunity to go home and play is obviously a dream job.
Other than those two jobs, there aren’t many that put Bridgewater in a better place than he is here. Staying here puts him with a superior mentor, and he knows the clock is ticking for Brees. If there isn’t a real opportunity to win a starting job, this is a better place than most to be a backup. The only lateral move worth making would be in another place with an aging or oft injured QB (New York Giants, New England Patriots, for instance), and/or for more money.
However, money is an issue. There could be teams offering him very low end starter pay, teams without salary cap issues. The Saints can’t afford to get into a bidding war with others for Bridgewater. If he can be retained for something in the $6-9 million range, then you make a play.
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If not, you’re going to have to move on. If a team is willing to pay him $9-12 million, even as a potential backup, that’s too much. And he’d be silly not to entertain the idea of playing for at team that offers him that much. While he’s still young, once you get passed on a few times, you have to concern yourself with the nice paydays as you never know when the gravy train will pull into the station.