Report: Teddy Bridgewater signing with Panthers

The Carolina Panthers are set to move on from quarterback Cam Newton and have found their next starter. News broke Tuesday that Carolina was pursuing trades for the 2015 MVP, and now they’re rumored to be signing former New Orleans Saints signal caller Teddy Bridgewater to a three-year deal worth $60 million, according to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen. The deal is not done yet, but Ian Rapoport is reporting there is a basic agreement in place.

Bridgewater is fresh off backing up Drew Brees for two years and got an opportunity to show that he can run a team when Brees broke his thumb in Week 2 last season. He went 5-0 as a starter in 2019 and posted 1,384 passing yards with nine touchdowns and two interceptions while completing a career-high 67.9% of his passes. When it became evident that Brees was returning for 2020, it only made sense for Bridgewater to seek out a bigger role.

Bridgewater will inherit a Panthers team that has one of the NFL’s most versatile running backs in Christian McCaffrey, who is lethal as a runner and receiver out of the backfield. He notched more than 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards last season. Carolina receiving corps is headlined by DJ Moore, who led the team with 1,174 receiving yards in 2019.

The Panthers have a lot of other issues to address, as its defense lost linebacker Luke Kuechly to retirement and cornerback James Bradberry in free agency this offseason. But they have managed to shore up their quarterback situation for the next few seasons. A new era is around the corner.