The Chicago Bears are virtually certain at this point to make a change at the quarterback position when 2020 rolls around. That is unless Mitch Trubisky somehow transforms into a completely different player down the stretch. The big question for everybody is who will the team target. With no 1st round pick in 2021, the odds of them going after another rookie is unlikely. This means they'll have to maneuver for a veteran and most agree that 26-year old Teddy Bridgewater will be the prize.
The former 1st round pick has experienced quite the career resurgence. Most wondered if he'd ever play again after shredding his knee back in 2016 to the point where it was almost amputated. After a long fight to return, the New Orleans Saints traded a 3rd round pick to get him from the Jets in 2018. He chose to stay this past offseason and yielded rewards from that decision by stepping in for an injured Drew Brees to go 5-0 as a starter.
This has made his stock redhot ahead of free agency in 2020. Expectations are he'd get paid somewhere between $20-30 million a year. However, Saints beat writer Mike Triplett of ESPN thinks Bridgewater leaving New Orleans is far from a sure thing.
"This will depend on the free-agent market for Bridgewater. If a good enough team offers him great money to become a starter, he'll probably have to take the money and leave New Orleans. But Bridgewater proved last year -- when he signed a one-year deal to return to the Saints -- that he is willing to be patient and not just jump on any opportunity to start. New Orleans' offense is a great fit for Bridgewater, and the possibility of becoming Drew Brees' long-term successor is worth waiting for."
Teddy Bridgewater holds all the cards this time around
Bridgewater isn't stupid. He knows he holds all the leverage this time around. He proved this year that he was willing to pass on a surefire starting job to remain a backup in New Orleans. Granted that opportunity was with the Miami Dolphins who were clearly an awful team but it at least planted the seed that this guy doesn't mind playing the waiting game. Brees will turn 41-years old in January. His time in the NFL grows short and Bridgewater knows it.
New Orleans has a great offense in place with one of the best play callers in the league in Sean Payton as their head coach. That certainly looks like something worth waiting for. This means the Bears would have to make a strong impression in order to sway him towards leaving. Obviously money will be a big selling point, which they don't have lots of at the moment. That can change though with a few key moves. The big part will be whether head coach Matt Nagy can sell that his system can have lots of success with the right guy under center.
Not an easy sell with the way things currently are.
