ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Thanks for the effort, Teddy Bridgewater.
Russell Wilson’s got next.
Six days after the Broncos pulled off a blockbuster trade with Seattle that made Wilson their new starting quarterback, Bridgewater reached a one-year, $6.5 million agreement with the Miami Dolphins, a source confirmed to 9NEWS.
It may have been a little surprising Bridgewater, 29, made such a quick decision to sign a one-year, backup QB-type deal until you realize Miami is his hometown and the Dolphins have a shaky starting quarterback in Tua Tagovailoa. Bridgewater can earn another $3.5 million in incentives.
With the Broncos last season, Bridgewater first beat out incumbent starter Drew Lock in training camp and the preseason for the Broncos’ No. 1 quarterback position, then got off to a terrific regular-seasons start, leading Denver to a 3-0 record while completing 76 percent of his passes with 4 touchdowns and zero interceptions.
But Bridgewater suffered the first of his two concussions late in the first half of a Game 4 loss against the Baltimore Ravens and he and the Broncos were never quite the same.
Bridgewater did play well in a surprise victory at Dallas and an expected win against the Lions, but his season ended in a game 14 loss to the Bengals when he was backboarded off the field with a severe concussion. Bridgewater didn’t dress or practice for the final three games, although he said during his Darrent Williams Good Guy press conference in early January he intended to keep playing. He finished as the league’s 12th-rated passer with a 94.9 rating – the highest by a Broncos quarterback since Peyton Manning’s next-to-last season in 2014 – on the strength of a 66.9 completion percentage, 3,052 yards, 18 touchdown passes and only 7 interceptions.
The Broncos finished 7-10 but they were 7-5 in games Bridgewater started and finished.
Monday opened the NFL’s free-agent negotiating period and although the Broncos were in contract negotiations with their own inside linebacker Josey Jewell and other players, their only agreement was with Green Bay Packers backup offensive lineman Ben Braden on a one-year deal. Braden has played some guard and right tackle but otherwise has played little as he’s only had 8 offensive snaps in his career.
RELATED: Broncos trade Drew Lock, Shelby Harris, Noah Fant, draft picks for Seahawks' Russell Wilson
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