The 49ers are poking around about the availability of Panther’s quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, according to a report in the Athletic. Given what we know about the San Francisco quarterback situation, a trade with Carolina’s starting quarterback makes little sense.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan said before the end of last season that he wanted Jimmy Garoppolo to be part of the 49ers’ core and that separating Garoppolo would require a significant upgrade.
Bridgewater doesn’t check that box.
Last season in 15 starts, he threw for 3,733 yards, 15 touchdowns and 11 interceptions with a 69.1 percent completion rate. His 7.6 meters per attempt weren’t remarkable, yet they set a career high for the former Vikings’ first round. On the other hand, last year with the Saints, he threw nine touchdowns and just two interceptions with a career-best 99.1 passer rating in five starts – all wins.
All signs point to him being a sideways move from Garoppolo at best. Bridgewater would get about $ 12 million cheaper this season (assuming it happened before June 1), but it would also cost San Francisco a draft pick.
His cap hit of nearly $ 13 million would also deter the 49ers from entering into the transaction to bring him in as a backup. They don’t have the space limit to spend more than $ 35 million for two middle-of-the-road quarterbacks.
One way it could make sense, purely hypothetically, is if the 49ers were offered a first round team pick for Garoppolo and they gauge what it might cost to score another veteran in a trade before passing over the free agent market. However, that scenario doesn’t seem likely given Garoppolo’s injury history and what a younger player like Carson Wentz just went for in an agreed-upon exchange to the Colts.
Maybe the 49ers like what Bridgewater has done in his 20 starts over the past two seasons. However, he doesn’t seem to be the upgrade they’re looking for, and the idea that San Francisco would give up concept capital to save some cash and at best go laterally below the center is inconsistent with how the front office has functioned. the past four years.