This year's Aaron Rodgers?

[Mr. Scot]

I can't remember the last time I saw a potential top ten pick have as rough a pre-draft season as Louisville QB Teddy Bridgewater seems to be having right now.

 

Bridgewater chose to sit out most of the combine drills (except the broad jump).  There was some criticism, but QBs not doing combine drills in favor of better conditions at home "pro days" is not that unusual.

 

Only Bridgewater's pro day wasn't so favorable.  By all accounts he had what could best be called a "shaky" performance.  Still okay though, because such things can be salvaged via individual workouts with teams that are interested.  Right?

 

Er...Maybe not :unsure:

 

Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter have both reported that Bridgewater's individual workouts haven't gone all that well either.  As a result, Bridgewater is now sliding down a lot of draft boards, and may also slide when May 8th rolls around.

 

Anyone who watched one of his college games  knows the kid can quarterback.  He can read defenses, he's an accurate passer, he's a leader and he's calm under pressure.  Pretty much all  of the concerns teams have had about Bridgewater have been physical.  Some have questioned whether or not his body can take the pounding an NFL quarterback - especially a young one on a bad team - often takes.  There were also doubts regarding the level of competition he faced in college, though most of those seem to have been quieted.

 

The question becomes whether teams will put more value on the game film or the workouts.

 

So supposing Bridgewater experiences an Aaron Rodger's type slide in the draft and falls all the way out of the top ten - and maybe further - who do you think stops that slide?

 

And if he falls all the way to 28, given Newton's contract situation, how probable would it be to see the Panthers taking him?

[Ken]

0.000000000000000000000%

Way more likely a team trades up with us to snag him above the Pats.

[CarolinaNCSU]

If he falls to 28, we get on the phone and try trading back. He could be BPA for us and trade bait in the future...but I see no chance we take him "solely"(for this year anyway) as leverage to Cam's contract while not really improving the team with our 1st round pick. 

 

If he starts sliding though, I see no reason the Browns don't use their pick from the Colts to grab him. This story will be told by Kevin Costner in Draft Day 2. 

[rayzor]

not.

 

i think he'll still go early, but if he does go to a team in an aaron rodgers type situation, i'd look at teams with old QBs and few needs.

 

I've stated how unhappy i would be in drafting ealy. this would really piss me off. i can't see it happening.  it's a really bad idea.

[nagai]

Oh I think it's possible. Anything is possible on draft day. Bridgewater's fate I think hangs in the balance of his personal workouts. Combine, pro day, workouts -- 3 strikes and you're out. I still think Manziel is a big wilcard in the draft. A lot of teams are gonna like him, but a lot of teams are also going to label as a gambler at heart, at not one you can easily coach into playing with their structured offence.

[thefuzz]

Don't think that we pick him no matter how far he falls.

 

That said, I think that he is the most "pro ready" QB in this draft.

[Mr. Scot]

Any other year, the draft would be about two weeks away.

 

This year, there's extra time for him to rehab his image.  Though the effort to do so hasn't gone well so far.

 

Apparently Bridgewater just isn't a 'workout warrior' type.  He's more of a gamer.

[Jump Zone]

When I saw the thread title, the first name that came to mind was Bridgewater.

[Mr. Scot]

not.

 

i think he'll still go early, but if he does go to a team in an aaron rodgers type situation, i'd look at teams with old QBs and few needs.

 

I've stated how unhappy i would be in drafting ealy. this would really piss me off. i can't see it happening.  it's a really bad idea.

 

In the front of my mind, I see even less chance of us taking him than Ken does.

 

The back of my mind, however, has pondered two things: The first being Cam Newton's contract situation and the second being the number of quarterbacks we've invited to pre-draft workouts.

 

Now, looking at the names of those guys, I don't really see any of them as "failsafe" types.  More like potential number threes or "down the road" backups, honestly.  But of course, Bridgewater is another story.

 

The more realistic scenario might be what to do if someone like Zach Mettenberger or Aaron Murray slides to our pick in the second round (neither of which I see as especially likely to happen either, but arguably more likely than Bridgewater falling to 28).

 

And yeah, if any of this were to happen, this site would likely be shut down for about a month :unsure:

[XClown1986]

This is a move a dysfunctional franchise would make.

We have Cams 5th year option and can franchise him twice before his CAP number would become astronomical. You build around a young franchise QB. You don't think about replacing him.

If Cam decides that he does want to leave, we have leverage. Until it's an issue, it's a non-issue.

[Mr. Scot]

This is a move a dysfunctional franchise would make.

We have Cams 5th year option and can franchise him twice before his CAP number would become astronomical. You build around a young franchise QB. You don't think about replacing him.

If Cam decides that he does want to leave, we have leverage. Until it's an issue, it's a non-issue.

 

I'd agree...with one caveat.  Franchising a QB takes up a load of salary cap.

 

Is it wise to give your team a fallback option?

[XClown1986]

I'd agree...with one caveat. Franchising a QB takes up a load of salary cap.

Is it wise to give your team a fallback option?

You mean a threat? If you want to try to keep Cam you shouldn't make a power play like drafting a QB in round 1 after gutting his WR core and his left tackle retires. At that point you MAKE him want to leave. You try to build around him and hope for the best. This QB class isn't great anyway. If we had to try to get a QB in round 1 next year I'd rather do that. Better class and a better understanding of the circumstances of Cams future.

[Mr. Scot]

You mean a threat? If you want to try to keep Cam you shouldn't make a power play like drafting a QB in round 1 after gutting his WR core and his left tackle retires. At that point you MAKE him want to leave. You try to build around him and hope for the best. This QB class isn't great anyway. If we had to try to get a QB in round 1 next year I'd rather do that. Better class and a better understanding of the circumstances of Cams future.

 

i wouldn't call him a threat.  You have to do what's best for the team overall, and that includes planning for what happens if, say,  Newton gets injured or some such.

 

There is some logic to the idea.

 

But realistically, not enough logic that I could actually see it happening.

 

(or ultimately even support the notion that it should)

[XClown1986]

i wouldn't call him a threat. You have to do what's best for the team overall, and that includes planning for what happens if, say, Newton gets injured or some such.

There is some logic to the idea.

But realistically, not enough logic that I could actually see it happening.

(or ultimately even support the notion that it should)

Why plan for something that will likely never materialize? If we were to take Bridgewater I would see it as an indication that Cam has told management that he doesn't want to be here. And in that case, I would hope they would be smarter and trade him for three 1st round and two 2nd round picks with at least one of the firsts being in the top 5. I'd take the Accorsi stance with Elway on this one.