Teddy Bridgewater becomes immediate option for Pittsburgh Steelers

Teddy Bridgewater is set to become a free agent, leaving the Pittsburgh Steelers with no choice but to consider signing him.

The Minnesota Vikings went from Teddy Bridgewater maybe never playing football again to three starting quarterbacks in one season. Being too much for one organization, they’re allowing Teddy Bridgewater to be the first QB to hit the free agent market in 2018.

Bridgewater was never a big armed NFL gunslinger in his two years with Minnesota. The former Louisville standout uses his athleticism and football IQ to take advantage of defenses, something he does better than anyone at his position.

He may not be the right scheme fit for a team with Antonio Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Martavis Bryant. But Bridgewater has proven himself enough to be an immediate option for the Pittsburgh Steelers moving forward.

As much as no one wants to focus on the issue right now, Ben Roethlisberger is retiring within the next three years. Yes, that’s a long ways away, but at his position, not being prepared for life after Big Ben means wasted years with the NFL’s best talent.

Therefore, this team needs to make moves now, or at least consider them. Bridgewater is an NFL starter, but not right now. After missing all of the 2016 season and most of the 2017 season, he needs time to adjust back to the NFL lifestyle.

Maybe it’ll only be a year, or maybe it’ll be more, but either way, Bridgewater needs to work his way back before stepping in with the starting unit. Something Pittsburgh has time to work with.

Sitting behind Big Ben for a few years would do nothing but prepare Bridgewater more for his next chapter as a starter. Pittsburgh would no longer need to focus on finding that next man behind center, because there’d be no question that they already have him.

It’s the perfect situation for both. He’ll need to work on his arm strength and ability to find receivers down the field, but if he can adjust to a new scheme and work with Brown and Smith-Schuster, now, stepping into a starting role down the road could go smoothly.

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It doesn’t mean they need to sign him, but Pittsburgh most certainly needs to think about it. If they want to think about the future, something they need to, than finding the answer now isn’t a bad idea.

Bridgewater has all the talent to be a star in this league. Everyone knows it. Including Pittsburgh.