Is Teddy Bridgewater’s knee worth risking vs. the Lions?
By Dean Jones
Teddy Bridgewater’s injury problems
Teddy Bridgewater has been his fair share of turmoil before ending up with the Carolina Panthers. The former Louisville sensation was once regarded as one of the NFL’s brightest young quarterbacks and looked primed for a Super Bowl run with the Minnesota Vikings in 2016 before a freak training camp injury left the player fighting not only for his career but also his leg.
The knee injury suffered by Bridgewater needed countless surgeries and a rehabilitation process that eventually saw him return to the field late in the 2017 season for the Vikings, which was one of the great comeback stories of all-time.
However, the NFL waits for no man.
The Vikings moved on from Bridgewater in favor of Kirk Cousins. After he was picked up initially by the New York Jets, he was subsequently acquired by the New Orleans Saints via trade in 2018 that began his eventual path to the Panthers.
It was here where Bridgewater formed a relationship with Carolina’s offensive coordinator Joe Brady. But it was his level of production in Drew Brees’ absence last season that convinced the Panthers to give him a three-year, $63 million deal with a $15 million signing bonus and $33 million guaranteed during free agency.
Bridgewater has done well on the whole during his first full season as a starter since 2015. There are some who question his ability to lead the Panthers into playoff contention, but he ranks No. 7 in passing yards gained and has a completion percentage of 72.1 that would smash his career-high.