The Carolina Panthers, with a new regime in place under Matt Rhule, elected to replace Cam Newton with Teddy Bridgewater. After signing a three-year deal in Carolina, Bridgewater is grateful to be a starter in the NFL again.

In a piece for Football Morning of America, Peter King of NBC Sports spoke to Bridgwater about his opportunity to start again:

“It’s a blessing to be back in this position that I’m in. Having someone believe in you, having an organization that believes in you and gives you the keys and says, ‘Here, this is your opportunity,’ that’s all that I’ve asked for. I know that it’s a difficult time right now and I’m not able to be around the guys, but with technology, we can FaceTime each other. We can call each other. We can meet. Guys have questions, it’s easy to get access to each other.”

Coming out of Louisville, Bridgewater began his career as the No. 32 pick by the Minnesota Vikings in the 2014 NFL Draft. Early in his rookie season, Bridgewater was handed the keys to Minnesota's offense.

However, during the summer of 2016, the former first-round pick would suffer a gruesome knee injury that would sideline him for the entire 2016 season. Above all, the knee injury made it tough for Bridgewater to assume he'd start in the NFL again.

After a three-year stint with the Vikings, Bridgewater would be traded from the New York Jets to the New Orleans Saints. Of course, during his time with the Saints, the Louisville product proved to teams he could start in the NFL by going 5-0 in place of Drew Brees.

While he hasn't started a full season since 2015, Bridgewater is in the driver's seat again. Regardless of what happens, Bridgewater seems forever thankful to the Panthers for giving him an opportunity.