The Denver Broncos have made a pre-draft trade for Carolina Panthers quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, per multiple league reports.
Bridgewater and the Denver Broncos has been a possibility now for a long while, especially since the Carolina Panthers acquired Sam Darnold in a trade with the New York Jets.
The Denver Broncos and new general manager George Paton have talked a lot this offseason about wanting to add competition to the quarterback position, and this accomplishes exactly that. Bridgewater has been a solid starting quarterback throughout his NFL career, and he does a good job of taking care of the football, something the Broncos have to do better in 2021.
Carolina will pay a portion of Bridgewater’s 2021 compensation as part of a restructured contract to finalize the deal to Denver, which now has competition for Drew Lock … and options with the No. 9 pick. https://t.co/R7ryftKY6T
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) April 28, 2021
Bridgewater restructured his contract to come to the Denver Broncos and reunite with George Paton, who obviously had a hand in drafting him back in 2014. What does that mean? Well, Bridgewater would need to be assured that he would have a shot at starting in 2021 in order to take a dock in pay in 2021 and 2022.
“Acquiring Teddy Bridgewater adds competition, experience and a strong veteran presence to our quarterback room."
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) April 28, 2021
GM George Paton on agreeing to trade for @teddyb_h2o: pic.twitter.com/lHgKRGVX2x
What’s the implication of this move for Drew Lock? Well, the heat is officially on. Lock was handed the keys to the proverbial car in 2020 and he did not perform up to standards, despite the fact that circumstances were not always in his favor.
Lock knows he has to improve if he’s going to make it with the Denver Broncos as the starting quarterback, and the arrival of Teddy Bridgewater signals that George Paton was not screwing around when he said that he wanted Lock to have to compete for his job.
Furthermore, this acquisition validates Paton’s comments about Lock not being guaranteed to be the week 1 starter in 2021.
What about the 2021 NFL Draft?
NFL Network’s Mike Silver stated on a live broadcast that George Paton likes “all” of the 2021 NFL Draft prospects at quarterback in different ways. What that means, nobody knows, but the Broncos just paid a sixth-round draft selection for insurance in case the guy they like does not make it to 9 overall or they can’t make a trade up for the guy they want the most.
One thing is certain — this move does not take the Denver Broncos out of the running for first-round quarterbacks in 2021.
Denver Broncos NFL Draft: First-round pick should be one of these 6 guys
The Denver Broncos' options in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft are not exactly limited, but they should have a pretty narrow list of targets.
Teddy Bridgewater could easily be the team’s week 1 starting quarterback with a rookie waiting in the wings behind him. A scenario where Drew Lock and Bridgewater fight it out for the top spot also exists, but this move does seem to make Drew Lock’s future with the team a bit more questionable than it was a couple of hours ago.