Bridgewater primed to make one of the best sports comebacks ever
Aug 31, 2021, 6:00 AM | Updated: 6:09 am
The Denver Broncos have named Teddy Bridgewater the starting quarterback. It’s not what many in Broncos Country wanted, but it is what it is.
With that being said, if Bridgewater revives his career in Denver — and let’s say it puts the Broncos in a wild card spot — we could be looking at one of the best sports comeback stories of all time.
Bridgewater came into the NFL with fairly high expectations. A late-first-round pick, he went to the Pro Bowl in year two with the Minnesota Vikings, and the future was looking bright for the young quarterback out of Louisville.
Then, in 2016, came a traumatic knee injury that almost cost him his leg.
After his brutal injury, Bridgewater didn’t play football for 19 months. His career looked to be over. He finally got a chance to prove himself with the New York Jets in 2018, and he looked like he could be returning to his old self in the preseason. Then he was traded to the Saints.
After carving himself a backup role in New Orleans, Bridgewater got his chance to show he belongs in the NFL when in Week 2 of the 2019 season Drew Brees broke his hand on a helmet. And Bridgewater did just that, going 5-0 in the absence of Brees. The Saints offense didn’t miss a beat. He completed 67.9 percent of his passes for 1,384 yards, nine touchdowns and two interceptions.
Suddenly, Bridgewater was back in the NFL.
This led to a massive contract from the Carolina Panthers, setting Bridgewater up for a career resurgence we have not seen in a long time. However, his time in Carolina was not pretty. He threw 15 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, and the Panthers went 5-11. This led to the Panthers trading him to the Broncos, even paying Denver to take him. All that ground he made back seemed to have vanished.
Now, Bridgewater is the Broncos starting quarterback. After a long and drawn-out battle with Drew Lock, Bridgewater won the job and has a chance to prove he can be a consistent starter in the NFL.
If Bridgewater can do this, we will witness one of the best sports comeback stories of all time.
