Bridgewater on Saints' QB situation: 'I definitely do not mind waiting'
Though he didn't outright commit to sticking with the New Orleans Saints long term, Teddy Bridgewater seemed content Thursday with biding time on the bench before succeeding Drew Brees at quarterback.
"I definitely do not mind waiting," Bridgewater said at his introductory press conference when asked about his desire to start again. "For me, I get to take advantage of this opportunity.
" ... You watch the tape, you look at the numbers and things like that, and you say, 'Wow.' You get the opportunity to be a part of something like that. So for me, I don't mind waiting. I get to learn from one of the best players to ever play this game and get to be in the room with a great group of guys. I get to learn from coach (Sean) Payton also, so I look forward to that."
The Saints seemingly tabbed Bridgewater as the heir apparent to Brees when they traded a third-round pick Wednesday to acquire the 25-year-old from the New York Jets.
Bridgewater, though, has been open about wanting to start, and will be a free agent at season's end. Brees has two years on his contract, and is still one of the league's most prolific pivots.
"If we could all predict the future, I think we'd all probably be millionaires or something like that right now," said Bridgewater, a multi-millionaire, of his future in the Big Easy. "But for me, I just have to live in the now and take advantage of this opportunity I have today. I can't live too far down the road. I'm gonna continue to grow and want to be the best football player I can be for the New Orleans Saints."
A former first-round draft choice of the Minnesota Vikings, Bridgewater established himself as a capable starter before a devastating knee injury in the 2016 preseason sidelined him for nearly two full years. He's thrown just two passes over the last two regular seasons, but dazzled in his preseason tenure with the Jets.
"You get a young, talented player who is accurate," Payton said in his evaluation of Bridgewater, according to ESPN's Mike Triplett. "He's an outstanding kid - he's not a kid anymore, but he's got great makeup, great football IQ. We liked how he played in the preseason. We think a player like that's valuable. So we're excited to have him."
When asked whether the Saints will try to sign Bridgewater to an extension, Payton responded: "We'll see. We don't have to decide any of that right now."