Can Teddy Bridgewater respond to Matt Rhule’s challenge?
By Dean Jones
Matt Rhule has laid down the gauntlet to Teddy Bridgewater.
Teddy Bridgewater is about to embark on an important offseason that will include plenty of speculation surrounding his future. The quarterback has been inconsistent for the Carolina Panthers during his first year under center and there are some big calls to make from the coaching staff regarding the most important position on the field in the coming months.
Bridgewater has a cool, calm demeanor. But it’s hard not to look at his level of production down the stretch and not come to the conclusion he was suffering from a lack of confidence.
His two-interception outing at home to the New Orleans Saints resulted in Bridgewater being benched, although there was a foot injury to consider that was weirdly not revealed at the time. P.J. Walker didn’t exactly shine in the No. 1 role – throwing three picks – which only heightened the desire from large sections of Carolina’s loyal fanbase to pick a potential successor in the 2021 NFL Draft.
This was not the most ideal situation for Bridgewater to walk into.
The controversial way Cam Newton‘s departure was handled left him with a mountain to climb through no fault of his own and although he has had four players achieve more than 1,000 all-purpose yards this season, it brought just four wins for the former first-round selection out of Louisville.
There is much work to do for the signal-caller. And nobody knows that more than Bridgewater himself.