Teddy Bridgewater’s time with Panthers may be limited, but they don’t need to draft a QB
It’s not the losses, but the manner in which the Panthers are losing, that has been such a surprise this year.
Carolina has been on the wrong side of seven one-score games, including Sunday’s 32-27 defeat to the Denver Broncos.
Much of the blame falls on quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and the seven game-winning or tying drive attempts this team has had. Naturally, attention has shifted to the Panthers’ increasingly likely top-10 draft pick and whether they absolutely need to take a quarterback.
Not necessarily.
It would be a reasonable move if they did. Behind Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, who is almost guaranteed to be the first-overall pick, Ohio State’s Justin Fields, BYU’s Zach Wilson, Florida’s Kyle Trask and North Dakota State’s Trey Lance are all likely first-round quarterbacks.
At least one of them will be available to the Panthers. If they fall in love and find the guy that they believe is the star of the future, then draft him. Bridgewater hasn’t proven he’s “that” guy. But it’s not a must. Here’s why.
Teddy Bridgewater’s performance
Bridgewater has been far from perfect. But he hasn’t been bad, either. There has been questionable decision-making and a lack of inclination or play design to throw downfield.
He has only 14 passing touchdown, which ranks 21st in the NFL, and is averaging minus-2.2 air yards to the sticks, which shows the average amount of yards ahead or beyond a first-down marker — among the lowest average in the league. Bridgewater also averaged 4.8 completed air yards on his throws, sixth-fewest per NextGen Stats, meaning he isn’t throwing the ball far downfield. He also elected to run a play prior to the two-minute warning, despite that not being what the coaching staff desired, and the play failed.
On the other hand, he’s been without the Panthers’ best weapon in Christian McCaffrey for 10 games this year. Running back Mike Davis (two touchdowns Sunday) has played well at times but can’t replicate what McCaffrey does on the field or draw as much attention from opposing defenses.
Bridgewater has had moments where he’s kept the Panthers in games and put together solid drives. When asked if he thought this was the quarterback who could lead the ongoing rebuild, Rhule was clear and brought up the help needed around Bridgewater as well.
“Absolutely. But I don’t think he is going to be successful in two-minutes (situations) if he gets sacked on the first play. I don’t think he is going to be successful if we have drops. I think that all us have to continue to work together to improve.” Rhule said. “I’m not going to pin (the offensive performance) on him. I’m sure he would be the first to say, ‘I have to do this, I have to do that.’ But there are a lot of things that have to be improved.”
Some of those sacks fall on Bridgewater, but he’s also been behind an inconsistent offensive line with left tackle Russell Okung missing seven games this year due to injuries and mixed guard play.
He hasn’t lost many games for the Panthers, but he hasn’t won either. Next season will be a year of more growth for the Panthers, and he would be a fine option to continue to lead a developing team in the short-term.
The Panthers have other draft needs
The Panthers need so much help. Plenty of teams will be looking at quarterbacks in this year’s draft. Carolina could trade down and get even more opportunities to add talent to this team, which is needed, but that’s not typically this front office’s style.
Linebacker is a strong position to consider. Cornerback will have to be addressed with Rasul Douglas appearing more likely to be a one-year rental. Decisions need to be made at a variety of positions on the offensive line. Defensive tackle should be on the table as well, although for later in the draft after selecting Derrick Brown with the seventh overall pick last year.
There have also been plenty of situations this year in which Bridgewater and the offense could have used a reliable pass-catching tight end, for example, during a two-minute drill with about 2:48 remaining in the game.
Quarterback isn’t going to be the only correct way to use this pick. There will be plenty of players and options on the board that will add talent to this team.
Panthers aren’t in desperation mode
Bridgewater signed a three-year, $63 million deal this offseason. He’ll be on the team in 2021 — it would be $20 million in dead cap for the Panthers if he’s not — but it would be easy to cut him in 2022, and take a cap hit of just $5 million.
There’s no need to rush it. Patience is required for a rebuild. Bridgewater could be an excellent teacher to whoever the next quarterback will be and continue to play even if they choose to draft a quarterback. But the Panthers also appear likely to end the season in a bit of gray area. Bridgewater hasn’t shown enough, but he also hasn’t proven he doesn’t deserve the job. Would a full offseason help his performance?
Quarterback is the most important position on the field. It’s likely that it will end up being the right decision to draft one, but it shouldn’t be forced. The Panthers are lucky to be in a position where they have a player that is good enough to hold things down while they figure out the best possible option.
“(Winning at the end of games) hasn’t worked out, the way we want this year, but a lot of other things have,” Rhule said. “So I’m just of the mindset that I’m just going to continue to try to build around him and build with him.”
Injury updates: Rhule did not have an update on McCaffrey’s availability for Saturday night’s game against the Green Bay Packers (10-3). He is recovering from a quad injury and missed his fourth straight game Sunday. Okung injured his calf Sunday, but there is a chance he will be available vs. the Packers.
Last three games: Don’t expect to see a variety of backups, like quarterback Will Grier, out on the field in the last three games if starters are healthy. Rhule has been saying all season long that he is going to put the best players out there — as seen in the team remaining committed to putting a healthy McCaffrey on the field — and that’s not changing.
“If we have a chance to be a playoff team next year, our ability to focus around Christmas, to focus around Thanksgiving, to go win games at the end of the year when you’re beat up, when practices are shorter, that’s a skill,” Rhule said. “Instead of trying guys out, I’d rather try to get the whole organization to understand how important December is and try to win games in December.”
Bridgewater’s fourth quarter decision: Rhule provided further clarity when discussing Bridgewater and the offense running the play prior to the two-minute warning in the loss to the Broncos, saying, “Teddy made a decision to run a play when we asked him not to.” The coach said that they will have to make it clearer going forward how to handle those situations and that it needs to be corrected, but that he was pleased at times with how he played in keeping the team in the game.
This story was originally published December 14, 2020 at 10:09 AM.
