Denver Broncos head coach Vic Fangio declared Teddy Bridgewater the team’s starting quarterback over Drew Lock on Wednesday [August 25]. The move tells us three things: 1) Vic Fangio placed the highest priority in his evaluation on game performance. 2) The Broncos will be scouting college quarterbacks very closely this football season. And 3) F. Scott Fitzgerald’s work needs revision — there are indeed second and even third acts in American lives.
Journey for Teddy Bridgewater earning the Broncos starting QB job
Let’s start at the bottom of that list and work up.
Bridgewater, 28, formally won the starting job nearly five years to the day after he completely mangled his left knee in a non-contact injury during Vikings’ practice.
It’s easy to forget now, but the biggest concern in the immediate moments after the injury was that Bridgewater might die from the damage. The injury was that severe. He suffered what is known as a tibiofemoral dislocation.
That’s a fancy name for a dislocated knee and an even fancier way of saying the top of his leg was no longer attached to the bottom. Beyond the structural injury, there was the possibility of arterial damage.
Fast-acting doctors might have saved his life, but they definitely saved his career. After a two-year rehabilitation process, Bridgewater returned to football, first as a backup, and then as a starter with the Carolina Panthers in 2020.
Despite setting career highs in completion percentage (69.1%), passing yards (3,733), and touchdowns last year (15), the Panthers traded Bridgewater in the offseason to the Broncos. Denver brought in the veteran to compete with Lock, a strong-armed signal-caller entering his third year.
What’s held Drew Lock back in Denver?
The Broncos would have loved for Lock to develop into their no-doubt franchise quarterback. He’s younger than Bridgewater with bigger upside.
It just hasn’t happened. Lock regressed in 2020 after a promising rookie year — he threw nearly as many interceptions as touchdowns last fall — and didn’t take a leap forward in the eight months since.
So if it hasn’t happened yet, the Broncos would be foolish to think it is going to happen at all.
That’s why Broncos GM George Paton will keep one eye on the college game this fall, evaluating the likes of Spencer Rattler, Sam Howell, and Malik Willis — quarterback prospects with a real chance to go in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
But there’s always a chance the Broncos are too good for any of those names. Denver, whose last playoff win came in Super Bowl 50, are hoping Bridgewater plays well enough to keep them far outside the top 10 picks in next year’s draft.
Preseason battle
If the preseason is any indication, that is well within the realm of possibilities. While Fangio said the battle was “pretty damn close” as recently as Tuesday, Bridgewater has been better in games.
Bridgewater has completed a ridiculous 84.2% of his passes, averaged 9.4 yards per attempt, and has led a Denver offense that has scored 24 points in his 40 snaps this preseason.
Lock hasn’t been quite as accurate, completing a still-respectable 66.7% of his attempts, but he has been more dynamic. His yards-per-attempt average this preseason is 17% higher than Bridgewater’s. The Broncos have scored 23 points in his 49 snaps.
One more factor that cannot be dismissed is Bridgewater, with his maturity and life experiences, is a better bridge to that aforementioned future. The Broncos have a very young offense that will need to develop for any rookie quarterback. Running back Javonte Williams is 21, and wide receivers K.J. Hamler and Jerry Jeudy are just 22.