NFL Trade Machine: Dante Fowler for Teddy Bridgewater
Could a major NFL trade come down right before the regular season?
The New York Jets have checked in with the Jacksonville Jaguars on the status of pass rusher Dante Fowler, according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News.
Fowler is coming off a week-long suspension for “conduct unbecoming a Jaguars football player” following skirmishes in practice. He sits behind Calais Campbell and Yannick Ngakou on the Jaguars depth chart, and could see his playing time dip even more with rookie Taven Bryan in-house.
New York lacked any sort of consistent pass rush last year with Demario Davis, who left for New Orleans this offseason, leading the way with five sacks. Muhammad Wilkerson, who signed with the Packers in free agency, was second with 3.5 sacks.
After missing his rookie season with a torn ACL, Fowler has 12 sacks in his last two seasons but has just one start despite playing in all 32 games.
One trade proposal that picked up steam on Twitter was Fowler going to New York for quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.
Bridgewater signed with New York one full season removed from a devastating leg injury that cost him his job in Minnesota. The former first round pick has been excellent in the preseason, although third-overall pick Sam Darnold has emerged as the favorite to start week one.
Coming off an AFC championship appearance, Jacksonville awarded quarterback Blake Bortles with a three-year deal worth $54 million with a $15 million signing bonus and $26.5 million guaranteed, per Spotrac. Just 26-years-old, Bortles has started every game over the last three seasons for Jacksonville with varied success.
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Jacksonville has former Brown Cody Kessler and rookie Tanner Lee as their backup quarterbacks, but considering the Jaguars championship window is wide open, it would behoove them to upgrade the backup position.
I’m not sure this potential trade would be a one-for-one deal, but it makes tremendous sense for New York if they can get it done. Whether Jacksonville would bite on this deal, I’m not sure. They don’t need a quarterback controversy going into the season, and they won last year thanks to their tremendous depth on defense.
Next. Top Rookie Performances of Week Two. dark
Call this a pipe dream for now, but keep it filed away once roster cuts begin later this month.