Tampa Bay Buccaneers Should Consider Teddy Bridgewater Trade

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers placed all their hopes in Jameis Winston when they made him the #1 overall pick in 2015. He hasn’t rewarded their faith.

Not only has his play been inconsistent up to this point in his career, he’s also gotten in trouble several times including his most recent brush with sexual assault. While he avoided any felony charges, the incident involving the suspected groping of a female Uber drive earned him a three-game suspension. Many were not happy about that, believing it was far too light a punishment since this isn’t the first time Winston has been involved in such a matter.

That aside, there is a growing belief that the Buccaneers are losing patience with Winston. He’s going into his fourth season and things don’t seem to be progressing from his solid rookie year. This despite the rest of the team around him continuing to get better in terms of overall talent. The team seems more than happy to turn the reins over to veteran backup Ryan Fitzpatrick, who was 2-1 last season as a starter.

Signs seem to be growing that they might be looking for a backdoor out of the Winston era. If so, there is one possibility they might want to consider.

Jets open to trading Teddy Bridgwater if Sam Darnold wins the job

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The New York Jets haven’t always been known for their smart decisions at quarterback, but they deserve a gold star for what they’ve done in 2018. Not only did they secure veteran former Pro Bowler Teddy Bridgewater in free agency, they also drafted Sam Darnold with the #3 overall pick. Several top experts considered him the best QB in the draft, so it’s a huge win for the Jets. It also gives them excellent odds for finally fixing the position after years of mismanagement.

The general feeling is Bridgewater was signed for two reasons. He was insurance in case Darnold is unable to start right away or he’d be a valuable trade chip if he was. Matters remain cloudy on that since Darnold still hasn’t reported for training camp due to a contract issue. Still, odds are he’ll arrive soon. That’s when the competition will begin. History says these situations favor the rookie. In which case that means Bridgewater could be available by the time the season begins.

Remember that he’s still just 25-years old. His knee has had two years to heal from that nasty injury he suffered. Best of all, he’s a completely different type of leader and role model than Winston. Teammates rave about him and coaches haven’t had a bad word to say about his work ethic or his personality. This sounds like the sort of player Tampa Bay would want under center long-term. All they have to do is pick up the phone.

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