Carolina Panthers: 5 Storylines to watch in the 2020 season

3. Is Teddy Bridgewater Back?

Up till the 2019 season, Cam Newton has practically been a lock in the Panthers’ starting lineup since 2011. Newton played in 123 of a possible 128 regular-season games through his first eight years with the Panthers.

Now that Carolina has moved on from their long-time quarterback, they decided to bring in another guy who has shown worthy of a starting position, instead of a young gun to tank away the season.

Bridgewater spent two seasons with the Minnesota Vikings as their starter but injuries mounted and the Vikings’ lost faith, causing them to move on from Bridgewater. Since then, Bridgewater has moved to New Orleans to back up Drew Bress as a member of the New Orleans Saints.

After a thumb injury sat Brees out for five games midseason last year, the Saints turned to Bridgewater to fulfill quarterback duties. Even though the Saints have a fantastic all-around team, Bridgewater made the most of his opportunity against a fairly difficult schedule.

He didn’t get to show off the jets much, but his throwing ability proved solid and worthy of a starting job. Bridgewater completed north of 70 percent of his passes in three of the five games he started and even had one game with 314 yards and four touchdowns. To top it all off, the Saints finished with a 5-0 record during Bridgewater’s reign as the starter.

The Panthers took note of his fantastic play and inked him to the tune of $63 million over a three-year span. A hefty contract, which didn’t get many Panther fans jumping for joy but Bridgewater should receive the opportunity to prove himself before making too many judgments.

Bridgewater gets the opportunity to play with a new offense under a new coach and for a fanbase which has seen the same quarterback for eight seasons in a row, aside from the 2019 season which sat him out with an injury. The Panthers have shown they believe in his abilities, now it’s time to see what Bridgewater can do as a full-time starter again.