4 quotes that signal the end for Panthers QB Teddy Bridgewater
By Dean Jones
"“When it comes down to it a franchise quarterback can be defined by getting it done with the game on the line.” – Scott Fitterer"
Bridgewater doesn’t match Fitterer’s definition
Scott Fitterer didn’t speak on individuals during his opening presser. But his definition of what a franchise quarterback spoke volumes about what the Carolina Panthers are planning to do this offseason.
Getting it done down the stretch was the main thing Fitterer pointed out.
Which Bridgewater simply hasn’t achieved.
The signal-caller went 0-8 on game-winning or tying drives this season. Even if Bridgewater had come through in even half of those situations, it would have left Carolina looking at a 9-7 record and a possible playoff appearance in the first year of Matt Rhule’s reign.
Instead, the Panthers finished 5-11 and all-but out of reach of the top three quarterback prospects in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Fitterer knows what a franchise player looks like. After all, he was part of the scouting team that brought Russell Wilson to the Seahawks, who has since gone on to have a phenomenal career that might see the 2012 third-round pick end up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame one day.
The new general manager will study the tape on Bridgewater closely, especially in those games where he didn’t come through in the clutch. If Fitterer and Matt Rhule decide these problems cannot be coached out of the veteran, then his time in Carolina will be hanging by a thread.