The Green Bay Packers have been advised to add seasoned backup QB Teddy Bridgewater behind Jordan Love but, as always, it is vital to consider the source.
Rick Spielman spent a decade as the general manager of the Minnesota Vikings and occupied one high-ranking front office position or another with the organization for 16 consecutive years between 2006-21. Spielman battled the Packers, often coming up short, through almost the entirety of the Aaron Rodgers era in Green Bay.
Despite admitting his own shortcomings in evaluating the quarterback position while running the show in Minneapolis, Spielman suggested on Saturday, July 1, that the Packers are one of two likely landing spots for Bridgewater this offseason — a player he selected with the No. 32 overall pick in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft while serving as GM in Minnesota.
“Two landing spots stick out for Bridgewater when considering most teams want to look at their young options first,” Spielman wrote in a July 1 article for 33rd Team, beginning by making his case for the Los Angeles Chargers to add the quarterback.
“The other team is the [Packers], who are starting the [Love] era,” Spielman continued. “Behind him, they have rookie Sean Clifford, who they drafted in the fifth round but many viewed as a college free agent, and Danny Etling, who was a free agent from LSU a few years ago. Teams will be patient with their young quarterbacks, but don’t be surprised if one of these teams signs Bridgewater.”
Teddy Bridgewater Most Accomplished Backup QB Remaining on Free Agent Market
GettyQuarterback Teddy Bridgewater, formerly of the Miami Dolphins, warms up before an NFL game against the New England Patriots in January 2023.
Sure, Spielman may be stumping a bit for his former guy. However, there is a compelling argument for Bridgewater as not only the best insurance policy behind Love, but as the best backup QB still available via free agency.
“Bridgewater is a smart and excellent leader,” Spielman wrote. “He has enough mobility that he can read through his progressions and get the ball out, but he’s more of a game manager now.”
Over the course of his nine-year NFL career — which includes Bridgewater missing all of 2016, followed by him sitting out all but one contest in 2017 due to injury — the veteran quarterback has appeared in 78 regular season games and earned a record of 33-32 as a starter. He has completed 66.4% of his 2,067 pass attempts, tallying 15,120 yards and 75 touchdowns compared to 47 interceptions, per Pro Football Reference.
Bridgewater has also rushed the football 219 times for 846 yards and 11 touchdowns. He earned his sole trip to the Pro Bowl as the Vikings’ starter in 2015. The 30-year-old quarterback most recently played for the Miami Dolphins on a one-year contract worth $6.5 million, which was fully guaranteed.
Packers Need to Add Veteran QB as Backup to Jordan Love
GettyGreen Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love has started just one regular season game as he enters his fourth NFL season in 2023.
If everything goes to plan for the Packers this season, the conversation about backup QBs will be rendered relatively moot.
Love will enter the 2023 campaign at 24 years old and turn 25 roughly halfway through in early November. He has started just one regular season game across three NFL seasons, though he played well in relief of Rodgers last year during a primetime road contest against the eventual NFC-champion Philadelphia Eagles. Love completed 6-of-9 passes for 113 yards, one touchdown and a rating of 146.8 in that outing, per ESPN.
That said, Love’s experience is as scant as almost any starter heading into this year. His offense, as well as the Packers’ roster as a whole, is incredibly young. Even if Love can handle the rigors of replacing Rodgers — one of the best to ever play the position — and endure the brutality of a 17-game NFL season, he will need guidance along the way.
The coaching staff is there for that purpose, of course, but a veteran with 65 starts under his belt like Bridgewater could prove invaluable in the inevitable moments of high stress and doubt that Love will face. And should Love be forced to miss a few games, a player of Bridgewater’s caliber has the talent and savvy to eke out a win or two, where as a rookie like Clifford or a career benchwarmer like Etling may prove unable to rise to the occasion.
If the Packers add Bridgewater, or a player like him, to back up Love, that move will likely push Etling to the practice squad. In that scenario, Clifford could remain on the active roster and suit up on Sundays as the third signal caller, as the NFL will implement a new rule this season allowing teams to dress an emergency quarterback who doesn’t count against the standard 53-man game day roster.
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Former Rival GM Pitches Packers $6.5 Million QB as Love Backup