Here’s how the Denver Broncos can trade for Teddy Bridgewater

The Denver Broncos are an obvious suitor for Teddy Bridgewater, and here’s how they could make a deal for him.

It’s no secret the Carolina Panthers wanted to replace Teddy Bridgewater, even if they seemed to settle for Sam Darnold. There could be a competition for a starting job, but it’s far more likely Bridgewater is traded and there should be (or are) multiple teams interested.

As the game of quarterback musical chairs has moved, the Denver Broncos have not added a veteran either to compete with or replace Drew Lock. The No. 9 pick in the draft might bring an opportunity to take a quarterback, or they could trade up to get whoever among the top prospects falls out of the top three or four.

Broncos’ general manager George Paton was in the Minnesota Vikings’ organization from 2007-2020, and he was assistant general manager from 2012 on. The Vikings of course took Bridgewater in the first round of the 2014 draft, trading up to the final pick of the round to get him too. That makes the Broncos an easy connection to Bridgewater, assuming Paton holds him in high regard.

Here’s how the Broncos could get Teddy Bridgewater

Lock has shown just enough to be interesting, but he has also been maddeningly erratic at times and injuries have impacted each of his first two seasons. The hiring of Paton to replace John Elway as Broncos’ GM put Lock on notice, but Paton has been patient to this point in any effort to add another quarterback.

After ceding a sixth-rounder this year and second and fourth-rounders next year for Darnold, the Panthers would surely like to recoup a bit of draft capital in a trade for Bridgewater. Here’s how the Broncos could make that kind of deal.

There’s an argument saying if Darnold fetched three draft picks, Bridgewater could or should too.  Darnold’s future feels promising and undetermined as he moves into a better setting though, and he’s not yet 24 years old. Bridgewater is still only 28 himself, but he has revealed himself as a quarterback with a low ceiling. That lack of upside means the Broncos only have to give up two picks to get him.