Bridgewater will start Week 17

The Panthers are finalizing a deal with QB Teddy Bridgewater, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Bridgewater made himself some money last year by completing 69.7% of his passes with 9 TDs and 2 INTs while leading the Saints to a 5-0 record in place of QB Drew Brees. Over that stretch, Bridgewater ranked 6th in Pro Football Focus' passing grades and 4th in adjusted completion rate among 29 QBs with 100+ attempts. He's also familiar with new Panthers OC Joe Brady from their time together in New Orleans in 2018, when Brady was an offensive assistant for the Saints. This move would seem to signal the end of QB Cam Newton's time in Carolina.

Update: ESPN's Chris Mortensen reports that Bridgewater is expected to sign a 3-year, $60 million deal.

Saints HC Sean Payton declined to name a starting QB for Sunday's game against the Seahawks. "We'll approach this game with two QBs," Payton said. We're expecting Teddy Bridgewater to draw the start, but it sure sounds like Payton is planning to use Taysom Hill even more than he did alongside a healthy Drew Brees. This is a situation to avoid in Week 3 fantasy lineups.

QB Teddy Bridgewater is set to re-sign with the Saints, despite receiving a more lucrative offer from the Dolphins, according to NFL Network's Jane Slater. "I’m told Bridgewater values the locker room culture and prospect of one day becoming the Saints starting QB," Slater adds. With Drew Brees now 40, Bridgewater's shot shouldn't be too far away. He remains a nice stash in dynasty leagues.

Saints QB Drew Brees said there's "no doubt" QB Teddy Bridgewater will play against the Panthers on Sunday. “It’s just a matter of how much." The last time the Saints had the #1 seed locked up heading into the finale, Brees didn't play a single snap. Don't expect to see much, if any, of him this weekend. Bridgewater is in play for DFS tournaments, although he probably won't get to throw to guys like Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that the Jets have agreed to trade QB Teddy Bridgewater to the Saints for an undisclosed draft pick. In New York (or New Jersey), that supports the anticipated move of naming Sam Darnold the Week 1 starter and leaves Josh McCown as the backup. On the other side, the level of the draft pick might tell us how interested we should be. If it's a late conditional pick, then maybe the Jets just couldn't find the market they hoped for Bridgewater. A pick closer to the middle of the draft, however, could point to the Saints eyeing Bridgewater as a potential successor for Drew Brees. We'll keep an eye on that. For 2018, of course, Bridgewater holds no fantasy relevance unless Brees goes down. Should that happen, though, Bridgewater would be a lot more interesting than he'd be as the 2nd or 3rd man in for the Jets. Bridgewater looks like a dynasty hold -- unless you can get a nice package from the Brees owner in your league.

Update: NFL Network's Mike Silver reports the Saints gave a 3rd-round pick. That seems to indicate they plan to try to keep Bridgewater beyond 2018 and/or believe they can recoup the pick via the league's compensatory calculations after Bridgewater signs elsewhere in free agency.