Teddy Bridgewater’s 2 seasons with the Saints helped him stabilize the Panthers
Teddy Bridgewater can still recall the conversation he had with his former coach, Sean Payton, in the 2018 offseason.
Bridgewater was a free agent from the Minnesota Vikings looking for a new opportunity and Payton, the New Orleans Saints coach, wanted to make one last pitch to him before he eventually made his decision to sign with the New York Jets.
Payton had a vision for Bridgewater.
“If you’re not going to go somewhere that is going to guarantee you some security then trust me, you can pretty much come back here, and within a year from now, I’m pretty sure you’ll be right where you want to be,” Bridgewater recalled of Payton’s vision.
A few months after Bridgewater signed with the Jets, the Saints traded for him. And the vision Payton had for the quarterback trying to make a comeback from a significant knee injury soon came to fruition.
Bridgewater spent two seasons with the Saints, but made his biggest impact in the second year when he had to fill in for Drew Brees after he suffered a thumb injury. Bridgewater’s performance in the five games Brees was out helped him land a three-year deal with the Panthers this offseason.
On Sunday, Bridgewater will face the team that helped him resurrect his career when the Panthers (3-3) take on the Saints (3-2) at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
Although Bridgewater has mostly fond memories of his time in New Orleans, he went with the usual script Wednesday of saying he’s treating the Saints simply as the next opponent on the Panthers’ schedule.
“We try to take this thing one week at a time,” Bridgewater said. “It’s the most important game because it’s the next game.”
Since signing with the Panthers, Bridgewater has been solid. He has thrown for 1,676 yards, six touchdowns and five interceptions, and has completed 71% of his passes.
The Panthers at 3-3 are one game behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for first place in the NFC South, a feat few saw happening at this point. From the beginning, he established himself as a leader on this team. Bridgewater says he feels comfortable with himself.
He credits his time in New Orleans for teaching him that.
“Trust in your process and staying committed to your process,” Bridgewater said, when asked what he took most from his time in New Orleans. “I watched a group of guys there — it’s easy to point out Drew — but there were other guys on that team, Demario Davis, Alvin Kamara, Terron Armstead, those guys who had routines and you watched them commit to their routines for 16 weeks-plus.”
“From just staying committed to your process and, at the end of the day, having fun. My two years there, those guys played the game, but they had fun doing it.”
Bridgewater said as a young player, he thought he had to be serious all the time because football was his job. But he learned he could lighten up — some.
Bridgewater is often seen dancing during the stretching portion of practices when the music is blaring.
Bridgewater has come a long way since a serious knee injury prior to the 2016 season with the Vikings caused him to miss the entire year. He lost his starting job upon his return, and before the 2018 season was searching for a new opportunity.
The opportunity he got with the Saints allowed him to prove himself to the rest of the NFL.
During the 2019 season, Bridgewater connected on 68% of his passes, threw for 1,384 yards, nine touchdowns and two interceptions. He went 5-0 in his relief of Brees midway through the 2019 season.
“I felt like for him, to come in and do what he was able to do, be a great decision-maker, he’s got great arm talent, he can move in the pocket,” Payton said. “You see all of it now, and you like to see your former players do well.”
Sunday’s game also marks the return of Panthers offensive coordinator Joe Brady, who was an offensive assistant with the Saints in 2018, before he went on to win a national championship at LSU as its passing game coordinator.
Brady and Bridgewater spent hours together in New Orleans preparing for their own moments. Bridgewater said Brady would forward him emails at 2 a.m. of how the offense would handle certain game-like situations. Brady would take notes during coaches meetings and send it to Bridgewater, as he tried to learn the offense.
So when Bridgewater finally got his chance in New Orleans, he was ready.
“I think Teddy is the same person from a mentality standpoint, he’s just getting the opportunity to get on the field,” Brady said. “I think one thing everything knows about Teddy Bridgewater is that he’s consistent. He’s prepared when he goes into every football game, and he makes plays when he’s in those games.”
So when Bridgewater thinks about that conversation with Payton in 2018, and his two years in New Orleans, he says he’s grateful. There, he found his joy in playing football again.
Now it is manifesting itself in Carolina.
This story was originally published October 23, 2020 at 7:00 AM.
