ESPN predicts Teddy Bridgewater to be traded soon

ESPN recently made a bold training camp prediction for every team this offseason. For the New York Jets, they predict that quarterback Teddy Bridgewater will be traded sooner rather than later.

With training camps underway across the NFL, hope and positivity are in the air. The New York Jets are hoping that they’ll finally end a two-year losing streak in which they ended the last two seasons at 5-11. It’s not easy to bounce back but they’re a young team hungry to prove they have what it takes to put together a winning year.

Their quarterback situation for once isn’t as big an issue or question mark like it has been over the past few years. On the roster now are Josh McCown, Teddy Bridgewater, and rookie Sam Darnold. Ideally, the Jets are hoping that Darnold develops quickly and gives the veterans above him on the depth chart a run for their money.

It won’t be easy but Darnold is a smart quarterback as well as a fiery competitor. Once he starts to put everything together, he could easily surprise many in training camp and dethrone McCown, who is firmly on top of the quarterback depth chart at this point in time.

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If Darnold steps up and puts on a clinic all throughout training camp and preseason action, it would easily make Bridgewater expendable in the grand scheme of things. It’s no secret that he’s been the talk of the offseason so far for the Jets as he’s practicing well and absorbing everything thrown his way.

ESPN recently made bold training camp predictions for every team this offseason and for the Jets, they believe the Jets will be just fine with McCown and Darnold on the roster at quarterback. They predict the Jets will trade Bridgewater sooner rather than later. Here is what ESPN said went behind this prediction:

Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater will be traded by the end of the preseason.

Comfortable with veteran Josh McCown and rookie Sam Darnold, the Jets will flip Bridgewater for a draft pick. They signed him (one year, $6 million) with the idea that he could be trade bait under the right circumstances. If his surgically repaired knee withstands the preseason, Bridgewater will intrigue quarterback-needy teams. — Rich Cimini

In the grand scheme of things, Bridgewater will have a lot of eyes on him from general managers across the league to see how he performs in real football action in the preseason. If he does well with the reps given to him and delivers consistent results, it would be very tempting for general manager Mike Maccagnan to consider trading him for a player to address other areas on the team.

With big questions marks on the Jets offensive line and overall pass rush, if Bridgewater can be traded to acquire an upgrade or two in those areas, Maccagnan would be hard-pressed to not consider it. Trading Bridgewater could potentially bring an anchor on the Jets offensive line or at the very least, an established pass rusher to bolster the defense instantly.

These next few weeks will be very interesting to see how Bridgewater shapes up and what kind of offers Maccagnan sees coming his way. The right one could very well be worth taking if Darnold ends up progressing faster than expected this offseason.