Rick Spielman Thinks Teddy Bridgewater Should Join a Vikings Rival
Josh Frey
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In the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft, Rick Spielman and the Minnesota Vikings decided that with the 32nd overall pick, they would make a move to bring a young QB into their roster. That QB was, of course, Teddy Bridgewater.
Bridgewater took over the starting spot during his rookie season, and he quickly looked like a stud at the position. Then, in 2015, alongside the strength of Mike Zimmer’s defense, Minnesota won the NFC North with Bridgewater running the offense. The 11-5 Vikings lost in the Wild Card round to the Seattle Seahawks due to the infamous Blair Walsh kick, but things were looking positive for the young Vikings.
Then, the summer of 2016 happened. Bridgewater suffered a horrific knee injury right before the start of the regular season, costing him his entire season. Spielman then traded a first-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles in order to acquire Sam Bradford, and Bridgewater would never start a game in a Vikings uniform ever again.
Spielman’s Teddy Bridgewater Recommendation
Nowadays, Spielman is a contributor for The 33rd Team, and recently, he made the argument that Bridgewater should join either the Los Angeles Chargers, or one of the Vikings rivals: the Green Bay Packers.
“The other team is the Green Bay Packers, who are starting the Jordan Love era. 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,” Spielman wrote.
Despite going through such a career-altering injury in 2016, Bridgewater has managed to carve a role for himself as one of the better backup QBs in the league. During 2018 and 2019, Bridgewater played for the New Orleans Saints behind Drew Brees. When Brees got injured in 2019, the former Vikings QB stepped in and went 5-0 as a starter.
He spent the 2020 and 2021 seasons back in a starting role, playing for the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos. Then, in 2022, he played for the Miami Dolphins, appearing in five games and making two starts. He completed 62% of his passes for 683 yards, 4 TDs, and 4 INTs for Miami this past season.
For now, the veteran journeyman remains a free agent as training camp approaches. However, it would make a lot of sense for a team to bounce on the opportunity to bring him in as a backup, particularly for a team like Green Bay with a young first-year starter in Love.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.