Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has been given permission by the Carolina Panthers to seek a trade. This comes following the team’s acquisition of Sam Darnold from the New York Jets.
Following the trade for Sam Darnold, the #Panthers spoke with QB Teddy Bridgewater and allowed him the opportunity to talk with teams to potentially facilitate a trade, sources say. Carolina is open to Bridgewater returning, but will give him a chance to have a say in his future.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 6, 2021
Bridgewater was offensive coordinator Joe Brady’s first choice at quarterback last year and signed a three-year, $63M contract. He turned in an efficient, but otherwise unimpressive season that was marked by his unwillingness to take risks pushing the football downfield. That performance led owner David Tepper, impatient after years of injury plagued losses, to want to move on from Bridgewater in the middle of his contract.
The New Orleans Saints and the Denver Broncos have both been mentioned as potential destinations for Bridgewater as both teams are looking to upgrade their quarterback position and neither are in obvious range of one of the top draftable quarterbacks this year.
The Panthers wouldn’t expect to recoup much of the price they paid for Darnold (a 2021 6th, 2022 2nd, and a 2022 4th) but they would see some cap relief. Bridgewater currently counts about $22M against the salary cap, but the team would save almost $13M against the cap this year and have no future dead money in the event of a trade.