The Green Bay Packers were successful in their trade of Aaron Rodgers and extension of Jordan Love, but there’s one more significant quarterback move to make.
Green Bay currently has no insurance policy behind Love, with rookie Sean Clifford and Danny Etling occupying the No. 2 and No. 3 spots on the depth chart. The Packers still have nearly $16.6 million in cap space, and while the team must sign a safety and could use another outside linebacker, some of those remaining funds would be well-spent on a legitimate backup QB.
There is at least one viable option for Green Bay in journeyman starter Teddy Bridgewater, a one-time Pro Bowler with a winning record (33-32) over a meaningful sample size in the league. The other option isn’t actually an option yet, though could be by the end of this week should the Tennessee Titans choose to cut Ryan Tannehill, also a one-time Pro Bowler. That move appears likely after the Titans drafted QB Will Levis in April, having selected QB Malik Willis in 2022.
Teddy Bridgewater Has Proven Competent NFL Starter
GettyQuarterback Teddy Bridgewater, formerly of the Miami Dolphins, warms up prior to an AFC Wild Card playoff game against the Buffalo Bills in January 2023.
Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report on Monday, May 29, anointed Bridgewater the best remaining signal-caller available and the seventh-best free agent still on the market across all positions.
“Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater ranked 48th on our initial free-agency big board, and we’re honestly surprised that he hasn’t signed with a new team yet,” Knox wrote. “Bridgewater probably isn’t returning to the Miami Dolphins after they signed Mike White, but he’d be a valuable backup on just about any team. Bridgewater has 65 starts under his belt and was a serviceable bridge quarterback for the Denver Broncos (94.9 QB rating) two years ago.”
Bridgewater injured a finger in Miami last season, which could be a factor in why he hasn’t signed anywhere yet. However, the Detroit Lions made an offer to Bridgewater, which the quarterback rejected.
He earned $6.5 million from the Dolphins in 2022 and can probably be had for a similar price, or perhaps even less, this season, during which he will turn 31 years old.
Ryan Tannehill Can Help Packers QB Jordan Love Learn NFL Game
GettyQuarterback Ryan Tannehill of the Tennessee Titans warms up prior to a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in December 2022.
As much experience as Bridgewater has amassed, Tannehill has earned considerably more. He has started at least 10 games in 10 of his 11 NFL seasons (he missed the entirety of the 2017 campaign due to injury), producing a regular season record of 78-65.
Tannehill has thrown for 33,265 yards and 212 touchdowns compared to 108 interceptions, per Pro Football Reference. He has also led the Titans to multiple playoff appearances, including to an AFC Championship Game in 2019.
There has been considerable discussion about the term “rebuild” in Green Bay over recent days, with most viewing it as possessing a pejorative connotation and avoiding its use when discussing the state of the franchise. If the Packers aren’t in rebuild mode, then they are in win-now mode. If they are in win-now mode, they need a better option behind Love to guard against injury and/or poor play and to help the 24-year-old transition to the job of starter.
Both Bridgewater and Tannehill can be helpful in this regard, though as it often does, signing either of them, or not, will boil down to compensation. Tannehill has one year left on a $118 million deal that will void if the Titans cut him. How much less he’s willing to take to play second fiddle elsewhere remains to be seen.
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2 Former Pro Bowlers in Play as Backups to Packers QB Jordan Love