Chargers ‘Attached’ to Possible Patriots QB Target

Could Teddy Bridgewater end up in Los Angeles?

According to Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report, the 27-year-old quarterback has been “attached” to talks within the Los Angeles Chargers. This is interesting because the Chargers are looking for a new starting quarterback after officially moving on from Philip Rivers, the franchise’s quarterback of the past 14 seasons.

Bridgewater spent the 2019 season as a member of the New Orleans Saints. He went 5-0 as the team’s starting quarterback after Drew Brees was sidelined due to a hand injury. While Bridgewater certainly excelled, the Saints aren’t likely to bring the veteran quarterback back for next season. That would be because Brees is returning for another season and the team is trying to re-sign Taysom Hill as their backup quarterback.

The 27-year-old Bridgewater is a former Pro Bowl quarterback who has extended experience as a starter. He led the Minnesota Vikings to a playoff berth during the 2015 season. However, a torn ACL cost him 19 months of his playing career and ultimately his starting job.

With all of that said, Bridgewater did prove last season that he was more than capable of being a starter again. He threw for nine touchdowns against two interceptions while accumulating a 99.1 quarterback rating.

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Patriots Linked to Bridgewater?

The New England Patriots have been thrown around as a possible landing spot for Bridgewater in the event Tom Brady leaves. In fact, CBS Sports‘ Jason La Canfora predicted that Bridgewater would replace Brady as the team’s starting quarterback for the 2020 season.

Still a young pup in his mid-20s, but has gone through life-changing injuries and cleared major hurdles. Outstanding kid with a first-round pedigree and abundant upside. Protects the football. Would have a great defense behind him. You need someone with high potential to replace Brady, Bill Belichick wouldn’t want a full rebuild, and they pick too low to get a sure-thing QB in the draft.

La Canfora wasn’t the only analyst who favored the idea of New England signing Bridgewater. The Athletic’s Shiel Kapadia also made the same prediction.

In Bridgewater, the Patriots could land a starting option who would not break the bank. Bridgewater has the intangibles in terms of leadership and work ethic that Belichick may find appealing. And he’s not the type of quarterback that will lose the game with mistakes. In five starts with the Saints last season, Bridgewater posted a 1.0 percent interception rate and he fumbled just once. It doesn’t have to be an either/or situation.

The problem is, it looks like the Patriots will face stiff competition for Bridgewater in the free agency market.

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Titans ‘Favored’ to Sign Brady

In the never-ending cycle of Brady news, the latest on the situation is that New England are not considered the favorites to sign the veteran quarterback — it’s the Tennessee Titans. The Patriots are actually considered third as the Las Vegas Raiders are considered the second-most likely spot, according to ESPN’s Jeff Darlington and Adam Schefter.

This is going to be the most interesting question of the offseason. … Jeff Darlington is a lot more connected to that particular situation than I think a lot of people realize. And in talking with him yesterday — and my eyes were opened to this. I mean I always thought this was possible but I got even more of a hint that it’s more possible. Jeff Darlington basically … I mean, handicapped the Titans as the favorite right now. Which I was like, ‘Whoa. OK. I knew that Tennessee was an option,’ but he made it out to be more of an option than I realized it to be.

And in his mind, to rank the teams right now, would be Tennessee, Las Vegas, and New England.

With free agency due to begin on March 18, there is still nearly a month left before the period starts. Which means the Patriots will have the advantage of negotiating a month before any other NFL team.

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