A day before the official onset of free agency, the quarterbacks dominoes are falling into place.
With Drew Brees, Kirk Cousins, Case Keenum and Sam Bradford effectively off the market, the Jets are prepared to roll the dice on former Vikings signal-caller Teddy Bridgewater.
New York is expected to sign the former Vikings quarterback to a one-year deal, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported, via a source informed of the situation. Gang Green is not Bridgewater's only option, Rapoport added, but he is the organization's first choice.
The 2014 Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year and erstwhile quarterback of the future in Minnesota, Bridgewater is free agency's quintessential wild card with just two pass attempts since suffering a career-threatening knee injury in August of 2016.
Prior to the injury, Bridgewater had the full support of Minnesota's coaching staff as a popular breakout candidate. He exhibited impressive accuracy, touch and improvisational ability to go with an intermediate-to-deep ball that surpassed expectations.
There's simply no telling how Bridgewater's reconstructed knee will react to the speed of NFL game action going forward.
Signing Bridgewater would open the Jets' options at the sport's most important position. He's young enough at age 25 that New York could opt to revisit veteran Josh McCown as an insurance policy and coach lite in the quarterbacks room. Under that scenario, general manager Mike Maccagnan would have the luxury of drafting the best player available at No. 6 overall rather than forcing a quarterback selection.
If Bridgewater puts pen to paper in the next 24 hours, the Bills would be left standing as the one franchise in desperate need of a quarterback.
UPDATE: The Jets are re-signing McCown on a one-year, $10 million deal, per NFL Network's Mike Garafolo.
