Two of the teams considered candidates to select quarterbacks in the first round have just exchanged a quarterback. Teddy Bridgewater is on the move, leaving Carolina for Denver.
Reports suggest he adjusted his contract to facilitate a deal. The Panthers are picking up a sixth-round pick in the deal, while also agreeing to pay $7 million of the guaranteed money left on Bridgewater’s contract. They were just looking to move him out the door.
The trade doesn’t necessarily mean the Broncos wouldn’t consider a quarterback with their first-round pick. They might view Bridgewater a nice bridge option to pair with somebody like Trey Lance or Justin Fields. He also gives them another viable option to potentially start. Their new GM, George Paton, says Bridgewater will compete with holdover Drew Lock.
Bridgewater tends to be a game-manager type quarterback, taking care of the ball and settling for short passes underneath, but not having the arm talent to consistently connect on downfield passes.
Over the last two years, 32 quarterbacks have started at least half the time. Of that group, Bridgewater ranks 4th in completion percentage (at close to 69 percent). Lock in the same time frame has completed a league-low 59 percent of his passes.
| COMPLETION PERCENTAGE (last two seasons) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | GS | Pct | Yards | TD | Int | Rating |
| Drew Brees | 23 | 72.4% | 5,921 | 51 | 10 | 111.2 |
| Derek Carr | 32 | 68.8% | 8,157 | 48 | 17 | 101.1 |
| Deshaun Watson | 31 | 68.8% | 8,675 | 59 | 19 | 105.5 |
| Teddy Bridgewater | 20 | 68.8% | 5,117 | 24 | 13 | 94.1 |
| Jimmy Garoppolo | 22 | 68.7% | 5,074 | 34 | 18 | 99.9 |
| Kirk Cousins | 31 | 68.3% | 7,868 | 61 | 19 | 106.1 |
| Russell Wilson | 32 | 67.5% | 8,322 | 71 | 18 | 105.7 |
| Ryan Tannehill | 26 | 67.3% | 6,561 | 55 | 13 | 110.6 |
| Philip Rivers | 32 | 66.9% | 8,784 | 47 | 31 | 92.6 |
| Aaron Rodgers | 32 | 66.2% | 8,301 | 74 | 9 | 107.9 |
| Patrick Mahomes | 29 | 66.1% | 8,771 | 64 | 11 | 106.9 |
| Dak Prescott | 21 | 65.9% | 6,758 | 39 | 15 | 99.7 |
| Kyler Murray | 32 | 65.8% | 7,693 | 46 | 24 | 90.9 |
| Matt Ryan | 31 | 65.6% | 9,047 | 52 | 25 | 92.7 |
| Lamar Jackson | 30 | 65.3% | 5,884 | 62 | 15 | 106.6 |
| Jared Goff | 31 | 64.9% | 8,590 | 42 | 29 | 88.1 |
| Ben Roethlisberger | 17 | 64.8% | 4,154 | 33 | 11 | 91.5 |
| Mitchell Trubisky | 24 | 64.6% | 5,193 | 33 | 18 | 86.8 |
| Josh Allen | 32 | 64.6% | 7,633 | 57 | 19 | 97.4 |
| Ryan Fitzpatrick | 20 | 64.2% | 5,620 | 33 | 21 | 89.0 |
| Matthew Stafford | 24 | 64.2% | 6,583 | 45 | 15 | 99.8 |
| Cam Newton | 17 | 63.9% | 3,229 | 8 | 11 | 80.6 |
| Tom Brady | 32 | 63.3% | 8,690 | 64 | 20 | 95.1 |
| Kyle Allen | 16 | 63.0% | 3,932 | 21 | 17 | 82.9 |
| Gardner Minshew | 20 | 62.9% | 5,530 | 37 | 11 | 93.1 |
| Daniel Jones | 26 | 62.2% | 5,970 | 35 | 22 | 84.1 |
| Andy Dalton | 22 | 61.6% | 5,664 | 30 | 22 | 81.8 |
| Carson Wentz | 28 | 61.2% | 6,659 | 43 | 22 | 84.6 |
| Baker Mayfield | 32 | 61.0% | 7,390 | 48 | 29 | 86.9 |
| Sam Darnold | 25 | 60.9% | 5,232 | 28 | 24 | 79.1 |
| Jameis Winston | 16 | 60.8% | 5,184 | 33 | 30 | 84.3 |
| Drew Lock | 18 | 59.1% | 3,953 | 23 | 18 | 79.1 |
—Ian Allan