The Carolina Panthers officially signaled they were entering a new period in franchise history when they signed Teddy Bridgewater to a three-year deal in NFL free agency.
Bridgewater acknowledged the notion of replacing a former franchise icon and NFL MVP in Cam Newton, whom the Panthers released on Tuesday. However, he also noted this is not his first rodeo taking over for a marquee signal-caller (via Darin Gantt of Pro Football Talk):
So replacing Cam Newton, as big of a job as that is, has to be kept in perspective by the guy who filled in for Drew Brees in New Orleans last year.
“I’m aware of the situation,” Bridgewater said, via Steve Reed of the Associated Press. “It’s a unique situation. I just have be myself. … I knew when Drew got injured I had big shoes to fill in. I reminded myself to be me.”
Being confident and taking things a day at a time might be the only way to handle this job, and Bridgewater said: “I’m a winner and everywhere I have gone I have won.”
One of the reasons Bridgewater got this lucrative deal from the Panthers stems from the job he did filling in for Brees when the star quarterback was injured in Week 2.
Bridgewater won all five of his starts, throwing nine touchdowns against two interceptions and alternating between dynamic playmaker and game manager.
The Panthers are committing to Bridgewater as their franchise quarterback, opting for youth and upside over the known commodity in Newton, who is immensely talented when healthy but has rarely been healthy in recent years.
In any case, Bridgewater is not fazed by the challenge.
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