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New York Jets: Is Teddy Bridgewater their best option for 2018?

By Michael Pallas

ATLANTA, GA - DECEMBER 03: Teddy Bridgewater #5 of the Minnesota Vikings warms up prior to the game against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 3, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - DECEMBER 03: Teddy Bridgewater #5 of the Minnesota Vikings warms up prior to the game against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 3, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/Getty Images) /
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Teddy Bridgewater may just be the kind of quarterback the New York Jets are looking for in 2018.

On the surface, it looks like the New York Jets are ready to move on from Christian Hackenberg and Bryce Petty. Even though that’s a mistake, if they do decide to go that route, there’s a perfect quarterback in free agency to meet exactly what the Jets need.

Fans don’t want a stopgap quarterback. They’re tired of guys that fill that role. Fans want a quarterback for the future. That said, current Minnesota Vikings signal-caller Teddy Bridgewater fills both the quarterback of the future role and stopgap simultaneously.

That may sound strange, and you may be scratching your head. How can someone be both a stopgap and a quarterback of the future? It’s very simple.

Bridgewater would only be a stopgap if he gets injured again, or if he fails due to a prolonged absence from the NFL. If he gets injured again, that means his body can’t handle the rigors of the NFL. It’s an unfortunate part of playing in the league. Sometimes people get hurt and their career ends before their talent fails and age betrays them. He’d also be a stopgap quarterback if he remains healthy, but his talent has faded due to a two-year absence from football.

However, with Bridgewater, it’s worth taking that risk, because of what he showed in his first two seasons in the NFL. He’s much less of a risk than a college quarterback, because we know what he was able to do, and he may be able to do it again.

Before the horrifying knee injury Bridgewater suffered in practice, he was growing into a top-flight NFL quarterback. He was completing nearly 65 percent of his passes, threw for 28 touchdowns, ran for four and only had 24 turnovers on 642 combined passes and runs. If he can continue that upward trend, he can be the quarterback of the future for the Jets.

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We aren’t sure what Bridgewater is or isn’t after his injury, though he did take the field in Week 15 in a blowout win for the Vikings. That said, given his age (25) and contract value, it will be well worth taking a chance on someone who’s actually proven he can play in this league rather than someone who we don’t are unsure can. This is a case where the reward outweighs the risk.

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