The final free agent possibility for the Buccaneers is Teddy Bridgewater who is coming off of an impressive season for the New Orleans Saints.
Bridgewater has had an up and down career, one that was marred by a very extreme injury to his ACL and other parts of his knee that sidelined him for more than a year. Despite this setback, Bridgewater has recovered while being a backup for Drew Brees and looks ready to take the lead at a new team again.
Teddy Bridgewater would likely be the only free agent quarterback that would be brought in to be a franchise player rather than as a bridge for a quarterback taken in the upcoming draft. Bridgewater is only 27 years old and still has quite some time left to play in his prime.
Bridgewater would not revolutionize the offense and is much of the same as the previously mentioned options. This offense would also be categorized by fewer interceptions, fewer touchdowns, and would require a better run game.
Teddy Bridgewater is also less mobile than Jameis Winston but could move better than Brady or Rivers. This middle ground makes him manageable for the Bucs but it would be wise to invest in more offensive line protection
The biggest issue with Bridgewater is that he would serve as more of a game manager which doesn’t fit well with Bruce Arians’ offense. Arians wants to throw the ball more than what Bridgewater would be accustomed to and overall offensive efficiency would diminish.
The final piece of the offense that would change is that Chris Godwin would likely get a far greater share of the targets. Bridgewater relied heavily on Michael Thomas during his starts for the Saints which would likely translate to a greater reliance on Godwin.