Bridgewater and Panthers close to a deal

Yahoo Sports' Charles Robinson expands on the Bridgewater and Panthers deal that is potentially coming to a close soon.

Video Transcript

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CHARLES ROBINSON: Well, it's as close as it can be without an official announcement. But Teddy Bridgewater is preparing to be the next quarterback of the Carolina Panthers, finalizing details of a contract right now, expected to be a three-year pact that's going to hover in the range of $20 million per year.

Cam Newton conversely is now on the trade block for the Panthers. Teams are free to speak to Cam Newton at any point they wish. There may be an issue there with physicals. People want to look at Cam Newton's shoulder. They want to look at his foot. They want to take a deep dive on his medical. And right now, that is frozen by the NFL.

But that will not stop the Panthers from moving forward at quarterback with Bridgewater. Now, what's interesting about this deal, Joe Brady, the offensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers who was hired away from the national champion LSU Tigers, actually spent two years as an offensive assistant in New Orleans with Teddy Bridgewater in 2017 and 2018.

I'm told that Brady's endorsement of Bridgewater and his time there with him in New Orleans definitely played a part in this signing. Not only does it sort of speed up the process in terms of the offensive scheme, Bridgewater is very familiar with what Joe Brady does. But look, there's just an element of comfort there for an offensive coordinator and a player that's not always there when you're searching for a free agent quarterback replacement.

Now, what's interesting about this deal-- and think people should take note of this-- a three-year potential $60 million deal is a low-end starter deal for Teddy Bridgewater. It's not the massive four or five-year commitment that some top-end quarterbacks are getting. I think that's good for Teddy Bridgewater. It gives him an opportunity to potentially extend this deal or renegotiate.

There are still teams that believe Carolina could be angling to move up in the draft. This may lessen that a bit. But it by no means takes them completely out of the race to consider. Hey, if Joe Burrow, if the Cincinnati Bengals ever consider shopping that number one pick, it does not take the Carolina Panthers completely out of consideration. Very unlikely, particularly considering you just committed three years to Teddy Bridgewater but leaves an option for the Panthers at this stage.