Teddy Bridgewater to sign with Panthers

The Carolina Panthers are turning things over from Cam Newton to Teddy Bridgewater.

Not long after the Panthers announced that they have given Newton permission to seek a trade, reports surfaced that Carolina had a deal with Bridgewater. The deal is believed to be worth $63 million over three years.

That isn’t quite as much money as some thought Bridgewater would get, but it sounds like good pay for a player who has played sparingly over the past three seasons.

Bridgewater boosted his stock by playing well in place of an injured Drew Brees last season. The New Orleans Saints won all five of their games that Bridgewater started while Brees was out with a thumb injury, and Bridgewater helped keep them in the playoff hunt.

We know of at least one other team that was interested in signing Bridgewater, but ultimately he chose the Panthers and new offensive coordinator Joe Brady. Brady was the passing game coordinator with LSU last season, and he spent time with the Saints before that. The familiarity between Bridgewater and Brady likely gave the Panthers a big advantage over other teams.