Saints 2019: Offseason priorities, the case for Teddy Bridgewater
By Tony Twillie
Final points and conclusion
There was earlier talk about a trade in which the Saints could get compensation for Bridgewater, maybe a compensatory pick. At this stage of the game that seems highly unlikely.
Those things usually occur around the trade deadline deals. As well, Bridgewater would have to move on and likely become a significant player for the Saints to get a pick for him. And that pick wouldn’t come until the 2020 NFL Draft, so it would be of no use to us this year.
And one more point. A lot of Saints fans got cold feet on Bridgewater as a backup or heir apparent to Brees due to his less than outstanding performance against the Carolina Panthers in the last game of the regular season.
No, his performance was not noteworthy. But let’s look at the facts. Max Unger was the only starter playing in position on that offensive line. The Saints had Will Clapp at one guard and Cameron Tom at the other. It was the first career start for both players. Andrus Peat started at left tackle but sustained the broken hand that rendered him less than effective in the two playoff games. The two guys who played tackle besides that had been on and off NFL rosters all season long. Neither had played this season before that game. Bridgewater was a sitting duck. There is no meaningful way to properly assess his performance in that game.
To sum it up, it’s not a completely forgone conclusion that Teddy Bridgewater is as gone as we expected earlier. Many teams have their QB of the present and/or future, and the ones who don’t will likely find their help in the draft.
The few teams that will be looking for current help, Washington and Jacksonville for certain, with Miami highly likely, may find it in other ways besides Bridgewater. We could do worse than to re-sign him and have him as a solid backup for another season or two.
Next. The No-Call: Saints and the case of Phil McKinnely and the SoCal referees. dark
But the likelihood is that Bridgewater tests the free agent market, where he could find a suitor willing to flash a little more cash than the Saints are willing to pay (we still have to figure out the market for Mark Ingram as well). Just know it isn’t as cut and dry as one might believe.