4 options the Panthers have with Teddy Bridgewater in 2021
By Dean Jones
What opens do the Carolina Panthers have with Teddy Bridgewater?
Things are not looking very promising for Teddy Bridgewater heading into the final two games of the 2020 season. The quarterback’s long-term prospects with the Carolina Panthers seem to be fading with every passing game and it would take a brave man to predict he will be their starter in 2021 the way things are going of late.
It hasn’t been easy for Bridgewater, nor was it expected to be.
Carolina’s offensive line isn’t up to the required standard, they have had their star running back Christian McCaffrey available for just three games, and filling the void left by Cam Newton during this period of transition was a monumental task.
Bridgewater hasn’t been terrible.
But there are some definite cracks beginning to show.
His dip in confidence has been especially evident over the last two games and Bridgewater’s lack of conviction to come through in close contests sees him with an unwanted 0-8 record on game-winning drives in 2020.
The fact Carolina has been involved in so many close games is a testament to their fighting spirit and exciting young pieces. But the quarterback just hasn’t done enough to convince people he is anything more than a stop-gap until a better alternative is found.
Let’s take a look at four options the Panthers could explore regarding Bridgewater in 2021.
Option No. 1
Release Teddy Bridgewater
This would be the most drastic of all the options available. Bridgewater received a three-year, $63 million deal with a $15 million signing bonus and $33 million guaranteed to get him to Carolina in free agency. So releasing the former first-round pick this spring would come with a $20 million dead cap figure and a saving of just $3 million.
Hardly worth it, especially when one considers how hampered the Panthers have been by an extortionate dead-cap figure in 2020.
It will be a different story in 2022. The signal-caller will count $26 million against the cap on the final year of his deal and cutting ties at this point would cost $5 million in dead-cap and save $21 million, which is far more financially workable.