Teddy Bridgewater may kneel during anthem but the Panthers need the hope he stands for
In his Twitter biography, new Carolina Panthers quarterback Teddy Bridgewater refers to himself as “The Neighborhood Hope Dealer.”
And for a team that could use a lot of hope, in a year that could use a lot of hope, that’s not a bad thing.
We are just starting to get familiar with Bridgewater, but I like what little I’ve seen from him so far. He appears thoughtful, persistent and, as head coach Matt Rhule said, “eaten up with the game.”
That doesn’t mean Bridgewater is unaware of the world’s larger issues. The quarterback said Monday that he is “leaning toward kneeling” this year during the national anthem to support the “Black Lives Matter” movement. He also mentioned that he had been able to reach out to the family of George Floyd — a Black man who was killed in Minnesota in May while in police custody — and “do some things for them.”
Bridgewater, 27, was signed to a three-year, $63-million deal by the Panthers in March to replace Cam Newton, the one-time franchise quarterback the team released almost simultaneously. Newton, who directed the Panthers for most of the past nine years, has since signed with New England.
While Newton had the personality, charisma and occasional churlishness of a Broadway star, Bridgewater’s personality seems to be more like that of an air-traffic controller.
“Steady Teddy,” as he’s sometimes called, believes it is his job to keep the flights running smoothly, no matter what. He will lead. He will give orders when necessary. There will be no doubt who’s in charge in the huddle. But it’s going to be a quiet sort of leadership unless something starts to go seriously wrong.
Are Panthers his team?
When asked Monday if he thought the Panthers were “his” team yet, Bridgewater left no doubt. “Definitely,” he said, adding that the front office had made sure he knew that. “They’ve made this transition smooth. And they told me from the jump that ‘Hey, this is your team’ and that guys will go as I go.”
Bridgewater has already organized several unofficial practices for veterans and has thrown to most of his new receivers on his own time. And he’s getting his post-graduate degree in offensive coordinator Joe Brady’s offense. The two already were together in New Orleans in 2018 when Bridgewater was a backup and Brady a low-level assistant; they can speak in shorthand.
Said Rhule of Bridgewater’s relationship to football: “He likes to talk about it. He likes to think about it. ... If it were up to him, he’d be here all day and going through it. I think that’s important because only half the quarterback (position) is the physical stuff. In this league, it’s about protecting yourself. ... Getting in the right plays. He just strikes me as someone who’s really into it.”
Cam, Drew and Teddy B
This won’t be the first time Bridgewater has replaced a star. He did it temporarily in New Orleans last year, subbing in for Drew Brees and going 5-0 as a starter in before Brees returned.
That was Bridgewater’s second year with the Saints, and by then he had figured out he shouldn’t try to mimic Brees too much.
“One of the biggest problems I had my first year in New Orleans was I wanted to be like Drew,” Bridgewater said Monday. “I had to do everything Drew did in order to have success like Drew. But eventually I learned that Drew Brees was Drew Brees. I’m Teddy Bridgewater. I’m coming into the situation where Cam Newton was Cam Newton. I’m still Teddy Bridgewater. So I can’t go out there and try to be something that I’m not.”
Bridgewater will need to be special for this Panthers team to not sink into the morass. With Christian McCaffrey, DJ Moore, Robby Anderson and Curtis Samuel at his disposal, Bridgewater has some weapons. But he is going to need to lead the Panthers to 30-plus points a game if they’re to win much of anything in the explosive NFC South.
Can he do it? Bridgewater thinks so. He is used to betting on himself. He lost nearly two full NFL seasons after horribly mangling his knee in a non-contact drill in August 2016 in Minnesota, where he had already made the Pro Bowl once in his first two years. By the time he finally came back in Minnesota, the QB job belonged to someone else.
Said Bridgewater: “When I got injured and wasn’t able to return to the driver’s seat, I just took it as: ‘Hey man, I’ve got to put my head down and just continue to work. Eventually, 31 other teams will have the opportunity to fall in love with me all over again.’”
Six NFL starts since 2015
The quarterback went to the New York Jets in 2018, but lost a competition for the starting job to Sam Darnold and was traded to the Saints on the eve of that season.
There Bridgewater was one of the NFL’s highest-paid backups, probably ready to start in a number of places but not for a team with a future hall of famer at quarterback.
With Carolina, Bridgewater finally has his own team again. Of Bridgewater’s 34 career NFL starts, 28 of them came in 2014 and 2015. In NFL terms, that’s a long time ago.
Still, Bridgewater is only 27. While some Panthers fans are already nearing the “What’s Next?” phase of Carolina quarterbacking and already thinking about the 2021 NFL draft, Bridgewater is thinking about right now.
“My purpose in life is to lead people,” Bridgewater said. “And I take pride in that, because I understand that eyes are always on me. Eyes are always on you when you’re in a position of leadership. So for me, I don’t ever want to be the guy who’s the cause of someone going down the wrong path.”
In other words, for a team that lost its final eight games in 2019, Bridgewater is ready to throw out some hope. He just wants people to be ready to catch it.
