Should Teddy Bridgewater be worried about P.J. Walker’s debut?
By Dean Jones
Should Teddy Bridgewater be worried about P.J. Walker’s debut?
P.J. Walker‘s eye-catching debut for the Carolina Panthers in their Week 11 win over the Detroit Lions might have Teddy Bridgewater looking over his shoulder. The first choice signal-caller was not risked by head coach Matt Rhule despite being cleared to play, which proved to be the right call in the grand scheme of things.
The Panthers completely dominated the Lions to snap a five-game losing streak. But they aren’t going to have things their own way in Week 12 during a tricky-looking trip to the Minnesota Vikings.
One thing is for sure, Bridgewater isn’t missing this one.
Getting a chance to showcase what he can still do against the team that drafted him is inspiration enough. Bridgewater was one of the NFL’s most promising young quarterbacks and looked primed for a Super Bowl challenge in Minnesota before a devastating training camp injury almost ended the player’s career.
Bridgewater did turn out again for the Vikings before he was released when the team decided to spend big bucks and get Kirk Cousins in free agency. It’s been a long road back to this point for the former first-round pick and the last thing he needs is a disappointing outing immediately after Walker made his presence felt during his first-ever NFL start.
The quarterback is still looking to win over those who wanted the Panthers to give Cam Newton one more shot. Walker captured the imagination on debut that has intrigued, but should Bridgewater be worried about losing his place to the XFL standout down the line?