Panthers QB Teddy Bridgewater’s knee ‘is not a significant injury,’ Matt Rhule says
Signs for quarterback Teddy Bridgewater’s healthy return are positive after suffering a right knee injury in the Carolina Panthers’ 46-23 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.
During Panthers coach Matt Rhule’s media availability Monday, he said Bridgewater did not have a significant injury and that he was hopeful the quarterback could practice Wednesday.
“We’ll just take it day-by-day, see if he can practice on Wednesday, and see if he’s available to go this week,” Rhule said. “We’ll see how he looks Wednesday, see what he can do.”
The quarterback was in the building getting treatment and in meetings Monday.
“He’s in typical Teddy spirits. He’s looking forward to the week. So, like I said, we’ll see what he can do, especially with the lower body thing I think you guys know me like, I’m always just waiting to see how things respond,” Rhule said. “We’ll see how it responds.”
Bridgewater was injured on a third-down sack by Jason Pierre-Paul in the fourth quarter with 5:24 remaining in the game. Guard John Miller (knee/ankle) was also injured on the play.
In 2016, Bridgewater suffered a devastating injury to his left knee that forced him to miss a large part of two seasons.
P.J. Walker entered the game in place of Bridgewater on Sunday; he was the only other active quarterback on the Panthers’ roster. Second-year quarterback Will Grier is also on the roster and has been exchanging time (five games each) as the team’s backup quarterback on game days with Walker. It is not yet clear which quarterback would start in place of Bridgewater this week if he is forced to miss the upcoming game Sunday against the visiting Detroit Lions (4-5).
“To me, both guys have worked really hard and deserve a chance to practice, so we’ll let them practice it out and see who deserves the right to go,” Rhule said. “I’m really pleased with Will and P.J. so far this year, so I have confidence that both of those guys can win a game.”
Bridgewater was not made available for his usual postgame Zoom call Sunday or his weekly Monday press conference.
Bridgewater was 18-of-24 passing for 136 yards, with two touchdowns and an interception Sunday vs. the Bucs. He also had three carries for 16 yards and a touchdown. After the sack, Bridgewater was taken into the blue medical tent on the sideline and then exited the field slowly and went into the locker room prior to the end of the game.
Sunday was not the first time Walker was forced to come in for Bridgewater this season. The starting quarterback was also injured on a play against the Atlanta Falcons just over two weeks ago. He was cleared after being tested for a concussion and returned to the game despite a neck injury. Bridgewater has not missed a game this season.
Walker went 2-of-4 passing for 12 yards and was sacked once in Bridgewater’s absence Sunday.
Practice squad signing: The Panthers officially signed quarterback Tommy Stevens to the practice squad after beginning COVID-19 testing to join the team last week. Stevens was one of the Panthers’ targets during the draft process, but the New Orleans Saints traded into the seventh round to select him. He spent half of the season on the Saints’ practice squad as a tight end.
Stevens overlapped with offensive coordinator Joe Brady at Penn State from 2015-16, where Stevens was listed as a quarterback, but also played running back and wide receiver until 2018. He spent the 2019 season as a quarterback at Mississippi State. Emergency kicker Taylor Bertolet was released from the practice squad as a corresponding move.
This story was originally published November 16, 2020 at 10:13 AM with the headline "Panthers QB Teddy Bridgewater’s knee ‘is not a significant injury,’ Matt Rhule says."
