The Jacksonville Jaguars traded defensive end Dante Fowler to the Los Angeles Rams at the trade deadline. But as it turns out, they could have traded him as early as the preseason to the New York Jets for quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.

As Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports, the Jets had offered Fowler for Bridgewater straight up, but the Jaguars declined the deal.

The Jets eventually dealt Bridgewater to the New Orleans Saints for a third-round pick. As for Fowler, who had been on the outs with the Jaguars due to his off-field behavior, he was traded to the Rams for two mid-round picks.

The Jaguars might be ruing that decision not to pull the trigger on the Bridgewater deal given their quarterback situation. Blake Bortles has struggled once again this season as the Jaguars have sputtered to a 3-5 record during the first half of the season.

Bortles was benched during their Week 7 loss to the Houston Texans with backup Cody Kessler taking over. Bortles returned to start against the Philadelphia Eagles in London. But he’s currently dealing with a shoulder injury, which led the Jags to sign Landry Jones as insurance in case he can’t play in Week 10.

Bridgewater would have been a much better option to turn to than either Kessler or Jones. He even could have been the Jaguars’ long-term answer at quarterback over Bortles as he showed he could be a capable starter in Minnesota.

But since the Jaguars passed on Bridgewater, they will just have to endure Bortles for the rest of the season and make a decision on what to do about the quarterback situation in the offseason.