Teddy Bridgewater the new Drew Brees succession plan

The New Orleans Saints traded a third-round pick to the New York Jets for quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who may be Drew Brees’ new successor.

The New Orleans Saints may have found their eventual successor to Drew Brees with Teddy Bridgewater.

Multiple reports confirm the Saints and New York Jets have come to an agreement on a trade that will send the former first-round quarterback to the Big Easy for a draft pick.

The Jets apparently are coming away with a third-rounder.

The decision to acquire Bridgewater was originally considered to be a calculated risk by the Jets, but it has turned into one of the wisest moves of the offseason.

After re-signing Josh McCown to a one-year contract, the Jets signed Bridgewater to a one-year deal.

They proceeded to trade a number of very valuable draft picks to the Indianapolis Colts for the right to move up to the third overall pick.

That’s where the Jets drafted Sam Darnold out of USC, who has quickly established himself as the starting quarterback in New York.

The Jets now own the Saints’ 2019 third-round pick after New Orleans already traded their first-round pick for the right to move up and select Marcus Davenport in the 2018 NFL Draft.

After re-signing with the Saints this offseason, Drew Brees confirmed he would be around for at least two more seasons, but he will become a free agent in 2020 again at the age of 41.

A lot can happen between now and then, but the Saints now have a succession plan and you don’t just pay up a third-round pick (especially when you’re already down a first-rounder) for a guy to be your backup through just one season.

The Saints clearly liked what they had seen from Bridgewater in preseason play, and he will be part of this team’s future as long as he’s willing to cooperate.

What if Bridgewater gets sick of sitting, though? The Saints may envision him being part of their future, but Bridgewater may have his eyes on starting somewhere as soon as 2019. With Brees under contract in 2019, there’s a significant roadblock there.

This is a gamble by the Saints, not only because of Bridgewater’s health but because they have no idea if he’s going to be willing to accept whatever their plan is for the 2019 season and beyond.