Carolina Panthers: Bridgewater bike ride is good sign for 2020

New Carolina Panthers quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is not letting the coronavirus pandemic get in the way of his conditioning work ahead of the 2020 season.

One thing that Carolina Panthers fans will quickly realize regarding free-agent signing Teddy Bridgewater is his exceptional work ethic. This is something that was particularly evident in a recent social media post regarding his offseason workout program.

Bridgewater penned a three-year, $63 million contract with the Panthers. This included a $15 million signing bonus and a further $33 million guaranteed to prize him away from the New Orleans Saints. The signal-caller is not letting a little thing such as social distancing measures relating to the coronavirus pandemic stop him from improving his conditioning.

The former Minnesota Viking posted on Twitter an energy-sapping bike ride that consisted of more than 74 miles in five hours. This involved a 173-foot elevation gain and burned off an incredible 3,691 calories.

Hard work and perseverance are two things Bridgewater is all-too-familiar with. The quarterback came back from the brink after a devastating leg injury with the Vikings to get another prolonged chance of starting in the NFL.

He went 5-0 as a starter in New Orleans last season in the absence of Drew Brees, which went a long way to the Panthers giving a multi-million-dollar deal. It remains to be seen when the gunslinger can get back to the player of old. But Carolina’s decision-makers have put some good weapons around him to ensure they get the most out of their new acquisition.

They also solidified up their offensive line with the arrivals of Russell Okung, Michael Schofield and John Miller. Everything is in place for Bridgewater to succeed. But it will be up to the player himself to deliver.

If this bike ride taught us anything. It’s that Bridgewater is taking his 2020 season preparation extremely seriously. Hopefully this will show on the field whenever competitive action gets back underway.

This might not mean much in the grand scheme of things. But any lingering doubts about Bridgewater’s health, endurance, or level of commitment should have dissipated in one tweet.