4. Teddy Bridgewater
The Bears got an up-close look at Bridgewater on Sunday, as he went 23-for-38 for 281 yards and two touchdowns on his way to going 5-0 as the Saints’ starter in place of Drew Brees (thumb). In his first extensive action since the 2015 season, the former first-round pick seems to be knocking the rust off.
Bridgewater’s first three games (two starts): 178.3 passing yards per game, 6.2 yards per attempt, 87.1 passer rating
Bridgewater’s last three games: 278.3 passing yards per game (over 280 twice), 7.7 yards per attempt, 108.4 passer rating
Brees is set to return to practice this week and is eyeing a return against the Arizona Cardinals next Sunday, but the Saints could play it safe with a bye coming in Week 9. In any case Bridgewater probably has at most one more start left this season for New Orleans.
Bridgewater is set to become a free agent in March, but if the options for starting jobs aren’t good he could just go back to the Saints as a highly paid backup like he did last March.
If the Bears end up looking at a way to put the most pressure on Trubisky to win the starting job next year, Bridgewater might be the safest, most bankable option. If the price is right, of course.