How Teddy Bridgewater blew his chance with the Carolina Panthers

Did Teddy Bridgewater fail?

Few would argue that Teddy Bridgewater was deserving of another opportunity to become a prominent NFL starter somewhere. He worked exceptionally hard to come back from a freak training camp injury with the Minnesota Vikings that almost cost the quarterback his leg and career, which is one of the great inspirational stories of modern NFL times.

Bridgewater earned his shot with the Carolina Panthers after leading the New Orleans Saints to a 5-0 record in the absence of Drew Brees in 2019. He was assured in the pocket, accurate in his distribution, and looked supremely confident behind an elite offensive line.

At least from a statistical standpoint, Bridgewater’s time in Carolina doesn’t appear that bad. But completion percentage is just a small part of a signal-caller’s contribution and it was clear from quite early on that something wasn’t right despite the player working with offensive coordinator Joe Brady before.

For the Panthers to have four players achieve more than 1,000 yards from scrimmage and still finish with a 5-11 record is a damning indictment of Bridgewater’s contribution. Hesitancy crept into his play in key situations, with his clear regression from a confidence standpoint down the stretch something that was normally accustomed to someone with such a calm exterior.

Whether Sam Darnold is the answer or not is up for debate. But the Panthers were only going to get so far with Bridgewater and they knew it.