Chicago Bears Sign or Pass: Teddy Bridgewater

Should the Chicago Bears sign Teddy Bridgewater this offseason or look another direction?

Teddy Bridgewater will be one of the more interesting free agent names to pop up this offseason. Bridgewater is a former first-round pick who suffered a devastating leg injury that held him out for all of the 2016 season. He came back as a backup in 2017 and signed with the Saints in 2018.

After getting a starting job offer in Miami, he chose to re-sign in New Orleans again in 2019, and the decision was smart. He came in for an injured Drew Brees and won five straight games, boosting his stock in the process.

Now, he will be getting calls once again from other teams. Should the Chicago Bears join these teams and signing him to be a potential starter, or should they look a different direction?

Sign

When looking at what Bridgewater did in 2019 compared to Trubisky, it is hard not to say that one quarterback is clearly better than the other. Many fans will point to the skill players and the offensive line of the Saints, but Trubisky was under pressure 32.6% of his dropbacks while Bridgewater was under pressure 33% last season.

When under pressure, Bridgewater was far and away better as well. He had a 56.7% completion rate under pressure compared to 50.9% for Trubisky. He averaged 7.4 yards per attempt and had four TDs to one INT. Trubisky had five touchdowns and five picks but averaged a measly 4.8 yards per attempt under pressure.

Many will say Bridgewater was a check down player who benefited from Alvin Kamara in the flats and Michael Thomas over the short middle.

When throwing the ball ten yards deep or more, Bridgwater completed 54.7% of his passes to 43.6% for Trubisky. That is 12 yards per attempt for Bridgewater to 8.8 yards per attempt for Trubisky. Those were passes to Tedd Ginn and TreQuan Smith for Bridgwater.

You can say what you want, Bridgewater was better in 2019. He is only 27 years old, which means that if he can get his feet on a team, he can be a starter for a longer window, and his upside was always a quality starter. He just reached it at a different point. If the Bears are looking for someone who can step in, compete for a job and win games with a talented defense, Teddy Bridgewater is the guy.

Pass

While Bridgewater had a five-game sample better than Trubisky, that is all it is. Five games. Looking beyond that he has thrown 221 passes in the NFL since 2016. Trubisky threw 516 in 2019 alone.

Trubisky has started 41 career games to 34 for Bridgewater. When you look at the full picture of the two in their careers, they are probably closer than some may think.

Bridgewater is still more accurate and productive down the field, but Trubisky adds more with his legs and was slightly better in turnovers and sacks.

The biggest takeaway is that Bridgwater is not head and shoulders better throughout a bigger sample size. This matters because Spotrac has a market for Bridgewater estimated to hit $20 million per year.

If the question is Trubisky or Bridgwater straight up, it is one thing. If it becomes Bridgewater for $20 million or Trubisky for close to $10 million, this becomes a tougher solution. If the Bears are going to spend on QB they have to be right, and there are enough questions with Bridgewater that they may not be.