Teddy Bridgewater Trade Rumors: Panthers Expected to Move QB After Darnold Deal

The Carolina Panthers might look to trade Teddy Bridgewater or restructure his contract after acquiring Sam Darnold, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

General manager Scott Fitterer addressed the situation and confirmed Bridgewater's future remains fluid.

"We're going to find the right place him, whether it's here or someplace else," Fitterer told reporters.

Bridgewater is entering the second year of a three-year, $63 million contract and is due to count for $23 million against the salary cap in 2021. He started 15 games for the Panthers last season.

Bridgewater was solid in his first year as Carolina's starting quarterback, throwing for 3,733 yards, 15 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while completing 69.1 percent of his passes. He and the Panthers as a whole were at a loss with Christian McCaffrey limited to just three games.

In general, Carolina had room to upgrade at quarterback, and Bridgewater's age (28) made it difficult to see him as the long-term solution anyway.

With Darnold now on board, looking to trade Bridgewater makes sense, but finding a market for the 2015 Pro Bowler might be difficult.

According to NBC Sports Washington's JP Finlay, one possible suitor might already be out of the running since the Washington Football Team reportedly "won’t be calling."

Rapoport reported in March 2020 the New England Patriots were interested in Bridgewater before he signed with Carolina. New England re-signed Cam Newton this offseason, but perhaps a renewed push for Bridgewater could be on the table to solidify the team's QB situation.

The worst-case scenario for the Panthers isn't that bad since they'd have a great fallback plan in the event Darnold doesn't show much progress.

But $23 million would be a steep price to pay for a player who's likely going to be holding a clipboard in Week 1 if he's still on the roster.