Bridgewater One of the Highest Paid QB's From This Offseason
It's been a whacky offseason in the NFL not only for the Panthers, but for many teams. The Patriots lose Tom Brady to the Buccaneers, the Chargers lose Philip Rivers to the Colts, Andy Dalton agrees to become a backup in Dallas, Jameis Winston agrees to become a backup in New Orleans, and the Panthers released Cam Newton after nine seasons.
On Sunday, the Panthers saw their longtime starting quarterback ink a one-year deal with the Patriots with a max of $7.5 million, according to multiple reports. Despite being the NFL's 2015 MVP, Newton's new deal is rather cheap and rightfully so considering his injury history. However, what really caught people off guard is that several other quarterbacks who maybe haven't proven themselves as much got more money in their deals than Newton, most notably new Panthers QB Teddy Bridgewater.
Does it make sense for the Panthers to pay Bridgewater more money than the Bucs are paying Brady? More than the Saints are paying Brees? What the Colts are paying Rivers? Or heck, even more than the Patriots are paying Cam?
When you look at overall success, of course the others have accomplished more than Bridgewater and could still have more value than him. However, the market for Bridgewater was red hot. Many teams considered signing him after he went 5-0 in his five starts filling in for Drew Brees. This gave teams the sense that Bridgewater can still be a quality starter in the NFL and it was unlikely for the Saints to keep Brees, Bridgewater, and Taysom Hill.
When you look at Rivers, Brady, and Brees, they're all coming down to the final year or years of their respective careers. Newton is coming off a season in which he missed 14 games and Andy Dalton, well, yeah, Joe Burrow happened. To make the story short, all of these veteran quarterbacks have some sort of underlying issue. They either don't have much road left ahead of them, troubled past with injuries, or just aren't what they use to be. So although Bridgewater doesn't have six Super Bowl rings like Brady or 77,416 passing yards like Brees, it makes sense that he was more expensive. He's younger, and gives a team a longer window to win.
Do you think Teddy Bridgewater is overpaid? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!
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