The Denver Broncos need a new quarterback. We’re going to take a look at almost all of them, but Teddy Bridgewater is a very intriguing option…
The Denver Broncos are in the unenviable position of needing a quarterback next season, and the options — while almost all intriguing — all carry some sort of major risk.
One very interesting option for the Broncos is currently in Minnesota, backing up Case Keenum during his Pro Bowl seasons. That man is Teddy Bridgewater, a former first round draft pick who suffered a horrible leg injury before the 2016 season.
Bridgewater doesn’t fit the criteria John Elway has historically looked for in a quarterback — great height, surprising athleticism for a person of that height — but Elway’s previous requirements for picking quarterbacks pretty much need to be thrown out the window.
Taking guys who are just 6-7 isn’t going to work, apparently. Thankfully, I can’t think of a 6-foot-7 quarterback that would realistically be available as a starting option this offseason, so we may be in the clear.
Back to Bridgewater.
Bridgewater carries a measure of risk greater than almost any quarterback the Broncos could pursue this offseason, but he also carries some of the most potential.
Bridgewater looked well on his way to a great career with the Vikings prior to his injury, and thanks to the ascent of Case Keenum this season, the Vikings may be forced to pick between one or the other.
We all know the NFL is a ‘what have you done for me lately?’ league.
The Broncos should obviously be keeping all of their options open, including the potential risk that comes along with taking a flier on an injured player like Bridgewater.
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This would allow the Broncos the flexibility to go another route in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, whether they took an offensive tackle, a star defender, or traded down to accumulate picks.
Bridgewater played one of the gutsiest games of his career in 2015 against the Denver Broncos, when he had the Vikings on the cusp of coming back and winning against the eventual Super Bowl champions before Von Miller burst around the edge and took the football right out of his hands.
You’re not alone, there, Teddy.
I think if this guy is fully healthy, there are few better options on the open market this offseason. Perhaps the Vikings will foresee this and choose Bridgewater as their long-term option, but with the way Keenum has played this year, I find that hard to believe.
Minnesota obviously did not pick up the fifth-year player option on Bridgewater, which is guaranteed money that they simply couldn’t afford to pay a player that may have never played again.
But thankfully, Bridgewater appears on track to play again, and from what we’d seen in his first two years in the league, this is a player worth taking a gamble on. He has the ability to operate an offense, win games, and minimize mistakes.
By all accounts, Bridgewater is a great leader on and off the field and as shown by his starting as a rookie, he obviously is a very fast learner and someone who can command an offense quickly.
Bridgewater obviously has some health red flags that would need to be looked into heavily, but signing a player like this for a two or three year deal and then drafting someone like Mason Rudolph, Lamar Jackson, or Kyle Lauletta after the initial wave of quarterbacks go off the board seems like a solid approach.