Teddy Bridgewater possible 2020 free agent destinations

New Orleans Saints free agent quarterback Teddy Bridgewater could be a very desirable commodity on the open market with Drew Brees coming back.

Not even a year ago, Teddy Bridgewater made the tough decision to turn down other free agent offers (at least one) to return to the New Orleans Saints, the team that traded a third-round pick to acquire him after some solid preseason work in 2018 with the New York Jets.

Still freshly recovered from a gruesome leg injury, Bridgewater had a weird market in 2018. There was interest around the league, but he was mostly considered a ‘flyer’ in free agency and the Jets took a shot on him despite clear plans to draft a quarterback in the first round.

When the Saints acquired him via trade, it appeared as though Bridgewater would be the heir apparent to Drew Brees, who seemingly had a year, maybe two, left in him.

That all changed when Brees announced that he would be returning for a 20th season on his Instagram page.

Brees’ return is not entirely unexpected, but it is kind of surprising. The Saints will of course move forward with Brees as their starter for another year, but his decision to return is a significant early domino to fall in the game of musical chairs that’s about to happen at the quarterback position all around the NFL in 2020.

This move means that Bridgewater is not coming back to New Orleans for a third season. He joins a star-studded group of free agents at the quarterback position who will be looking for a new home in 2020.

Luckily for Teddy, he will have plenty of suitors and options.

Let’s explore some of the most likely landing spots.

1. Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins and Bridgewater were extremely close to a deal last year in free agency. As a matter of fact, Bridgewater had a bigger offer on the table from the Dolphins but opted to stay in New Orleans in hopes of taking Brees’ spot when he was done playing.

The Dolphins, now through with their ‘tanking’ process and in the building phase with Brian Flores as head coach, showed a tremendous resolve last season and even helped the Kansas City Chiefs in the final week of the season by taking down the New England Patriots in a very meaningful regular season game for Bill Belichick and company.

Although Miami’s roster is certainly not where it needs to be, it wouldn’t be all that surprising to see their interest in Bridgewater re-kindled this offseason since they are fifth in line in the 2020 NFL Draft and there is no guarantee they are going to get one of the top two quarterbacks on their board.

If Miami was willing to pay more than $7.25 million for a contract with Bridgewater last year, perhaps they would sign him in hopes that he could start in 2020 and perhaps push a rookie, or maybe be signed as an alternative to using a top 10 pick on the QB position.

2. Las Vegas Raiders

The Raiders have not yet brought in a quarterback of Jon Gruden’s choosing since he became head coach of the team.

While it might be more likely that Gruden and general manager Mike Mayock put their chips in the middle on a quarterback in the 2020 NFL Draft, Bridgewater could be an option for them as they move to Las Vegas.

3. New England Patriots

What happens with the Patriots if Tom Brady leaves?

This could be a situation worth waiting out for Bridgewater. The Patriots certainly have an offense that would suit his skillset, and taking over for Tom Brady would be a coveted job for any young signal caller.

The shoes he would be filling would be massive, but Bridgewater’s already proven he can do a good job in place of another legend, Drew Brees.

4. Carolina Panthers

If the Panthers move on from Cam Newton this offseason, as expected, they could be a nice landing spot for Bridgewater.

New head coach Matt Rhule certainly likes to utilize modern concepts with his offenses, but he’s a ball-control guy at heart. Rhule’s offense would fit Bridgewater simply for the fact that he’s going to look to establish the run, and Bridgewater’s primary weapon and outlet will always be Christian McCaffrey.