Matt Rhule right to take the high road with Teddy Bridgewater

Matt Rhule rightfully took the high road when asked about the recent comments made by former Carolina Panthers quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.

It’s clear that Teddy Bridgewater is keen to go out swinging before closing the door on his departure from the Carolina Panthers. The quarterback was traded to the Denver Broncos for a sixth-round pick after the team acquired Sam Darnold from the New York Jets, which came after an aggressive search for a better alternative at the most important position on the field this offseason.

Bridgewater‘s less than stellar time under center was enough for the Panthers to cut their losses just one season after the former first-round pick signed a three-year, $63 million deal with a $15 million signing bonus and $33 million guaranteed in free agency.

To say the signal-caller hasn’t taken this move well would be something of an understatement, which is further reflected in his comments on the Speaking on the All Things Covered podcast with Bryant McFadden and Patrick Peterson.

The Lousiville product heavily criticized Carolina’s practice methods – particularly two-minute drills and red zone offense – which as fortune would have it are the areas where Bridgewater particularly underachieved

A coincidence? Probably not.

But the quarterback wasn’t going to sit around and take full responsibility for what was a disastrous campaign trying to fill the gaping void left by Cam Newton.

Matt Rhule didn’t criticize Teddy Bridgewater despite the obvious temptation.

Matt Rhule spoke with reporters about the Panthers 2021 schedule after it was officially released on Wednesday evening, where the topic of Bridgewater obviously came up. The head coach was not about to slam one of his former players in front of reporters virtually, instead opting to take the high road when probed about the comments.

"“I’m not going to delve into specifics about our process, some of that is specific to us. But I feel really good about our preparation, and the amount of work our coaches put in and the amount of work our players put in. The amount of practice work, I think we push them in a really smart way.”"

Obviously, Bridgewater didn’t agree. However, he is the only one who’s left the organization under Rhule that has gone public with anything derogatory.

This sounds a lot like sour grapes. There were fewer reps than usual due to a changed COVID-19 climate anyway and it’s easy to forget that this was a brand-new coaching staff who hadn’t occupied prominent coaching positions in the NFL prior to 2020.

It was a learning curve for them too. But the simple fact of the matter is it wasn’t Rhule or Joe Brady missing wide-open receivers all over the field.

It was Bridgewater.

And he ultimately paid the price.

Rhule was right to keep his class even though he was probably hurt on the inside. He placed a significant amount of faith in Bridgewater during free agency last year knowing full-well what repercussions would come with releasing Newton when they did.

This was not only repaid with inconsistent quarterback play and ineptness in getting things done when it mattered most, but once Bridgewater left the organization he felt the need to take one last parting shot that didn’t exactly do him any favors in the grand scheme of things.

Bitterness is not normally a trait associated with Bridgewater. He’s seen as a cool, lovable character who is easy to get behind after bringing his career back from the brink, even though the mask seems to have slipped a little bit upon his departure.

Lessons were learned by the coaching staff last season. What comes next in Year 2 of Rhule’s tenure will be even more important following a period of adjustment in difficult circumstances.

The Panthers are moving on. Bridgewater should too.