Robby Anderson and DJ Moore might remember that when Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater tore his ACL on August 30, 2016, he dislocated his knee and suffered a tibiofemoral dislocation (when the upper leg/femur became separated from his lower leg/shin), an uncommon injury for a seasoned player to suffered through a non-contact drill on the practice field. But the fact that the training staff of the Vikings stepped in and saved his life makes the fact that he is still playing in the league an absolutely incredible outcome.

Injury doctor Will Carroll, on an ESPN Minnesota segment shortly after the injury, stated that due to the quick actions by the Vikings’ training staff, they were able to ensure that Teddy Bridgewater did not lose too much blood, which had the potential to threaten his life.

December 17, 2017, over one full year after having suffered an injury, Teddy Bridgewater stepped back onto the field for the Minnesota Vikings, taking over in a 34-0 blowout of the Cincinnati Bengals, and regardless of who you were cheering for that day in terms of teams, you were cheering for Bridgewater. Having made that ascension back to playing was quite astounding, especially with how close he was to never playing again or even losing his leg or potentially his life.

But after Bridgewater returned to the field, the Vikings decided to move on from him, and he signed with the New Orleans Saints in 2018 as a marquee backup QB behind future Hall of Fame inductee Drew Brees. But when Brees went down, Teddy Bridgewater stepped up and played in five games in ‘18 and nine games in 2019, showcasing that not only did the former Louisville Cardinal still have it, but he had played himself back into becoming a starting QB yet again.

After his two seasons in the Big Easy, one of New Orleans’ divisional rivals, the Carolina Panthers, came calling, and Teddy Bridgewater finally found his new starting gig. In his first season with this team, Bridgewater has teamed up with first-year head coach Matt Rhule, formerly the coach of the Temple Owls, and offensive coordinator Joe Brady, who jumped from the national champion Louisiana State Tigers to the NFL, and they have produced some pretty impressive results early on.

Through five games, Teddy Bridgewater has gone 130/177 (73.5 completion percentage), 1,460 passing yards (8.3 yards per completed pass), 6 TDs, and 3 interceptions, while also running for 73 yards on 15 carries (4.9 YPC) and 1 rushing TD.

Averaging 292 passing yards per game is no easy feat, but with the Panthers not being a very competitive team, it has forced Teddy Bridgewater to throw the ball more, especially with Christian McCaffrey out with an injury. But what are the two biggest elements that have aided in Bridgewater’s ascension back to the top of his game?

Both DJ Moore and Robby Anderson have given Teddy Bridgewater the best receivers that he has had since his time in NO with Michael Thomas. Even though Moore has been putting up underachieving numbers in a season that he was pegged to finally break out, Anderson has more than stepped up to help alleviate that drop off, giving Bridgewater two very solid options.

Moore was and still technically is the top receiver on the Panthers’ roster, even though his Week 5 performance against the Atlanta Falcons finally got him into the end zone for the first time this season. Having secured more than five catches in only one game (8/120 against the Buccaneers in Week 2) is the telling fact of how much he has underachieved, yet the work is there, especially with CMC out.

Only producing two double-digit fantasy outputs is not going to get it done for most teams that drafted Moore with WR1 aspirations, yet his WR25 rank on the season (in typical point-per-reception league formats) seems to paint much more of an optimistic picture than he has actually produced on the field so far.

Teddy Bridgewater seems to be building up his rapport with Moore, and even though Anderson has easily been taking the greater half of the targets, Moore is certainly still a solid option moving forward and one that seems to be settling into his role in this CAR offense, one that looks healthy enough to support two solid WRs – the big question will be how both Moore and Anderson’s roles change once CMC returns to full strength and commands his regular pass-catching diet.

For Anderson, he signed with Carolina in the offseason after having spent time with the bumbling New York Jets, an absolute dumpster fire of a franchise that somehow manages to get worse each and every season.

Anderson has produced at least five receptions in every game of the season and 99+ words in every game but one, producing double-digit fantasy point performances (in PPR formats) across every single week of the NFL season so far. His season-high nine-catch outing (Week 2 against TB) and his season-high 114 yards (6/114/1 line against the Raiders in Week 1) showcases that he and Teddy Bridgewater have been on the same page from day one.

Anderson’s WR7 ranking on the year, boasting 18.2 fantasy points per game on average, seemingly came out of nowhere, even though he was the top option for Sam Darnold and the Jets. Fitting into a competent offense boosted the ceiling of Anderson’s potential yet it also lowered the floor a bit, as the Panthers were a much more well-rounded team that was suited to furnish two above-average WRs that did not need to be counted on hauling in 10 balls each and every Sunday.

Teddy Bridgewater’s ascension back into the league, much less back into the top half of starting NFL QB’s, is nothing short of amazing, and fans everywhere have been in his corner ever since his fateful injury.

He seems to have found a home in Carolina, and with the young offense surrounding him, Teddy Bridgewater’s role in Carolina seems quite safe moving forward, something that he has absolutely earned on his return from his injury, which looked to be of the career-ending variety when it happened.