Oddsmakers Give Patriots Slim Chance of Signing Teddy Bridgewater

The Patriots find themselves way down the list of teams with the best odds of signing quarterback Teddy Bridgewater during free agency.

One of the more intriguing free-agent prospects this offseason at the quarterback position is Teddy Bridgewater. With experience in the NFL as a starter, but having been Drew Brees' backup in New Orleans for the past two seasons, Bridgewater will be a hot name in the market due to his capability as an NFL starter and the relatively modest contract he will merit due to his small body of work over the past several seasons. 

In case you haven't heard already, there's a chance the Patriots could be in the market for a quarterback his offseason. And because they will have a limited amount of cap space to work with this offseason (they are projected to have $41 million) signing a top-market QB like Dak Prescott, Jameis Winston, or Ryan Tannehill won't be possible if they plan on adding other players to their roster as well. That's why Bridgewater has been brought up several times over the past couple months as a potential replacement for Tom Brady if he decides to leave. 

But despite the fit seemingly being there for Bridgewater and the Patriots, oddsmakers have given New England a slim chance of signing the veteran QB this offseason. 

Here are the teams with the best odds of signing Bridgewater, per Sportsline oddsmakers:

Panthers: +200

Colts: +300

Chargers: +500

Buccaneers: +700

Broncos: +800

Bears: +1000

Patriots: +1500

The Colts, Chargers and Buccaneers all have more cap space than the Patriots do in 2020. The Bears and Panthers have less than New England. The assumption here is probably that Carolina will move on from Cam Newton, which will free up quite a bit of cap room and give them plenty of money to outbid other teams for Bridgewater. 

Despite New England, based on the odds, being way out of the running for Bridgewater, there are a few other avenues the team could venture down to obtain a QB in the event that Brady signs elsewhere during free agency. They could sign someone like Marcus Mariota or Case Keemun, or they could trade for someone like Andy Dalton or Jacoby Brissett. A very realistic option as well if for New England to make Jarrett Stidham their starter. 

But at this point, it looks like Bridgewater may be out of reach for the six-time Super Bowl champions based on the odds.