This past weekend, there were some rumbling that Broncos quarterback (and impending free agent) Teddy Bridgewater was eyeing a multiyear deal worth $25MM per season. However, the QB dismissed those rumors when speaking with reporters earlier today.
“Until it comes from me, it’s not true,” Bridgewater said (h/t to Andrew Mason on Twitter). “That’s what happens during this time of year. You see numbers come out. You try to put a value on a guy so that if things don’t work out with the team that he’s playing on, it’s, ‘Oh, he wanted too much money.’ I’ll tell you right now, I haven’t mentioned anything about a deal. My primary focus is trying to help this team win football games and trying to get into the playoffs. The rest will take care of itself. My job is to play football. All that other stuff, that’s for my agent and my advisors. I’m here to help this team be a better football team every day.”
Bridgewater’s agent was also quick to shoot down the reports.
“Teddy is focused on the season and winning football games,” the QB’s agent, Kennard McGuire, told Mike Klis of 9News on Twitter. “Anything outside of that is completely false.”
While it isn’t a surprise that Bridgewater and his camp denied the rumors, it’s also not outrageous to suggest that the quarterback could earn that kind of money in free agency. The 29-year-old is having one of his best NFL seasons, completing 67.6 percent of his passes for 2954 yards, 18 touchdowns, and seven interceptions (he’s also added 96 yards and two touchdowns on the ground). He’s also gone 7-6 as a starter and kept the Broncos in playoff contention. A $25MM salary would be middle-of-the-road among starting QBs, and with a rising cap, that could very well be the going rate for a player of Bridgewater’s caliber.
Lots of money for a guy who can’t throw more than 20 yards. A good share of his yards are after the catch.
A better than average qb. Good for both parties.
Is he though? He’s probably in that 20-25 range
Better than average QB? Certainly. Better than average starter? Maybe not. But even though it is abundantly clear that Denver could use a QB upgrade, it’s hard to guarantee that they will be able to replace Bridgewater’s production as it is right now.
On top of that, there has been pretty high QB turnover in Denver for the last few years. So, while I would like to see the Broncos make an upgrade at QB, they’re going to have to be sure that that change will be long term or at least that it will be an actual noticeable upgrade.
Better than average? Maybe, maybe not. But he is maybe a similar talent level, and a similar talent level, to a guy like Baker Mayfield. You know he can be very good, but not all the time. Do you risk going out and trying to find someone better, maybe you hit the jackpot or maybe you fall in your face. Or, do you commit to the imperfect but known quantity?
He’s better than Matt Ryan and he makes 40
Teddy’s third WR is better than Matt Ryan’s top receiver. No way. Ryan would destroy in that offense.
he had julio, calvin, hooper, sanu, etc etc and also bridgewater just finally got all his receivers together and they played what 1 or 2 games together and even then this team is being carried by the backs with teddy being a solid game manager … middle of the road sounds about right and yes at this point better than Matt Ryan especially at his current price.
Matt Ryan is a great QB. Don’t be ridiculous. And with those receivers he put up great numbers. You are flat out incorrect, that’s no disrespect to Bridgewater.
Patrick that much better than Gage?
He’s not better than Matt Ryan. Dont be dumb.
Teddy has a higher ypa, more td’s, less picks, and a higher passer rating this year. Matt barely beats him in QBR this year if you like that stat. But Teddy had a higher QBR last year on an awful Carolina team. Ryan lovers refuse to see the truth though so come back with another “uh-uh”
If he is better than average , then who is average ? Bridgewater is average at best.
He would be in my bottom 5 in the league of the 32 starters.
The only QBs I would rank lower really are Zack Wilson, anyone in Carolina , Lawerence , Mills …
Most of them are because they are rookies
Goff, Mayfield, Big Ben, Hurts, Danny Dimes, Heinicke. He’s prob comparable to Ryan and Jimmy G, putting him right about middle of the pack for starters.
Teddy Two Gloves will be able to get Four gloves for that money
This reminds me of the reports Cam was asking for 100 million after 2 games in New England and Winston wanting 40 mil a season
No way he comes close to that. He’s got several great receivers and they suck on Offence.
Jeudy Sutton and Patrick are great? If so, there are a lot of great WRs in the league.
They are great receivers, Teddy only throws short yardage and gets all of his yardage from yards after the catch.
I don’t think Bridgewater gets close to that, and I do think that Denver has great receivers. I think Bridgewater has done decently, though he could be doing better. Unfortunately, Denver also has two more serious problems: receiver health and an abjectly terrible offensive staff.
Neither Shula nor Shurmur have even come close to impressing. They are stale, generic, and predictable. I’d hate to see what they’d do to a rookie QB, or a less experienced veteran. No matter who comes in to Denver, those two absolutely must go if the Broncos want any type of long term success.
That’s offenCive !
Bridgewater is good but not great. I wouldn’t pay him more than $10MM per year. Still wish the Broncos kept Case Keenum. There was nothing wrong with him.
Keenum was not as good in Denver as he was in other spots, which has been true for him in his career. He just seems to do better in certain environments than others. Unfortunately for the Broncos, Denver didn’t seem to be one.
And I do agree that I wouldn’t value Bridgewater too immensely highly, but you just are not going to get a starting QB for that price today. And Bridgewater is a starter, albeit not a terribly high end starter. He’s done good enough work to be considered extension worthy or signable for a team beyond a one year deal. So, while $10 million may have been doable several years ago, I don’t see it happening today.