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New York Jets: Eagles show blueprint for handling Teddy Bridgewater

By Michael Pallas

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - SEPTEMBER 11: Teddy Bridgewater #5 of the Minnesota Vikings on field before the game against the New Orleans Saints on September 11, 2017 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Bridgewater begins the season on the physically unable to perform list. (Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - SEPTEMBER 11: Teddy Bridgewater #5 of the Minnesota Vikings on field before the game against the New Orleans Saints on September 11, 2017 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Bridgewater begins the season on the physically unable to perform list. (Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images) /
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If he’s healthy, the New York Jets should not trade Teddy Bridgewater, even for a proven NFL veteran at a position of need.

Over the summer, Teddy Bridgewater signed what is amounting to be a one-year prove it deal with the New York Jets. Many are calling for the Jets to consider trading the former starting quarterback, especially for a position of need for the team, but that may not be best for the future of the team or even for Bridgewater himself.

Let’s leave the personal aspect out of it for Bridgewater. Most guys who make it this far and played to the level that Bridgewater did want to be starting quarterbacks in the NFL. So, of course he would too.

From an organization standpoint, though, it may be a huge mistake to trade Bridgewater. What if Bridgewater fits perfectly in the Jets system? It would make sense to try to convince him to stay in the offseason.

Bridgewater is coming off a horrific knee injury and wants to prove to the league he can come back from it, but there’s another option other than being a starter in the league. There’s a quarterback in this league who took a strange path to becoming a Super Bowl champion and winning Super Bowl MVP — Nick Foles.

Now, I do understand that their stories are very different, because Foles wasn’t injured and left on his own. However, they are similar in terms of on the field accomplishments. Back in 2013, Foles led the Eagles to the playoffs and then left only to return to the Eagles to sit behind the future franchise quarterback.

Granted that Foles is was 28 last year and Bridgewater will only be 26 at the end of 2018. That said, imagine if the Jets could convince a 100 percent healthy Bridgewater to stay on the team for the length of Darnold’s contract. They’d have a viable NFL quarterback as their backup and their franchise quarterback just like the Eagles.

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It’s a huge gamble to take if he’s healthy. You’d have to hope you can convince him to set his ego aside. However, if the Jets can, they might just have a similar thing going that they have in Philadelphia. The gamble would be worth it, though, because as most fans know, the starting quarterback is the most important position in the league. That means that the backup is the second-most important.

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