Skip to content

Bridgewater: Panthers barely practiced red-zone, 2-minute offense

Grant Halverson / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Teddy Bridgewater recently spoke about his time with the Carolina Panthers and had some surprising comments about his old club's practice habits.

The quarterback, who now plays for the Denver Broncos, said the Panthers didn't spend much time practicing their red-zone or two-minute offense.

"I'll just say this for Joe Brady's growth (as an offensive coordinator). That organization, they have to practice different things and different ways," Bridgewater said on the "All Things Covered" podcast. "One of the things we didn't do much of when I was there, we didn't practice two-minute really, we didn't practice red zone."

Bridgewater added that the Panthers would only walk through the red-zone offense on Friday and get about 15 live reps in that area on Saturday.

Carolina struggled to score during the 2020 season. The Panthers averaged 21.9 points per game, good for 24th in the NFL, and their red-zone efficiency ranked 28th.

The 2020 season was both Bridgewater and Brady's first with the Panthers. The latter served as LSU's passing-game coordinator during its championship season in 2019.

Bridgewater struggled with the Panthers, tossing 15 touchdowns to 11 interceptions and compiling a 4-11 record as a starter. Carolina traded him to the Broncos after it acquired former New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold.

The 28-year-old said he's made peace with the deal as he understands the nature of the NFL.

"I could sit up here and say 'OK, Christian (McCaffrey) got hurt or we didn't have this, didn't have that.' But that's not me. I look in that mirror and I say, 'Hey, you gotta tighten up,'" Bridgewater said.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox