49ers Inquired About Trade For Panthers QB Teddy Bridgewater

According to Joe Person, the 49ers are one of the teams that has called the Panthers to gauge the market for QB Teddy Bridgewater. 

It’s the worst-kept secret in the NFL that the Panthers would love to find an upgrade from Bridgewater this offseason. They included him in a trade offer to the Lions for QB Matthew Stafford and they’ve been linked heavily as a team interested in pursuing Texans QB Deshaun Watson if he is made available. 

However, Person says the Panthers aren’t in a rush to move Bridgewater until they find a replacement given that he represents a solid fallback option for them. He has a $17 million base salary in 2021, $10 million of which is guaranteed. 

From the 49ers’ perspective, they’re looking for a solid insurance policy for QB Jimmy Garoppolo after committing to him as the starter for 2021. Bridgewater’s salary makes him a curious fit for cap-strapped San Francisco, however. 

Bridgewater, 28, is a former first-round pick of the Vikings back in 2014. He played out the final year of his four-year, $6,849,502 rookie contract after Minnesota declined to pick up his fifth-year option.

Bridgewater signed a one-year, $6 million contract with the Jets that included just $500,000 guaranteed. However, the Jets later traded him to the Saints during the preseason and he returned to New Orleans in 2019 on another one-year contract. 

The Panthers signed Bridgewater to a three-year, $63 million contract last March. He is set to make base salaries of $17 million and $20 million over the final two years of the deal. 

In 2020, Bridgewater appeared in 15 games for the Panthers and completed 69.1 percent of his passes for 3,733 yards, 15 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He also rushed for 279 yards and five touchdowns.

We’ll have more on the Panthers’ quarterback situation as the news is available.