Panthers trade Teddy Bridgewater to the Broncos for a sixth-round draft pick

Per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Carolina Panthers have traded QB Teddy Bridgewater to the Denver Broncos for a sixth-round draft pick. Carolina gave Teddy permission to seek a trade after they acquired Sam Darnold earlier this month.

So, two teams selecting in the top-10 of the draft have traded for quarterbacks this month, despite most mock drafts telling us that either Justin Fields or Trey Lance would fall out of the top-10.

The pieces of the puzzle are starting to come together. To me, this is Denver telling us they’re not going to get one of the top quarterbacks in the draft. It also signals that they would rather have Teddy over Mac Jones, assuming he’s still available — which some expect to be the case. I won’t be shocked if Teddy has to restructure his contract.

That’s two teams selecting a veteran over Jones if that is the case. That’s telling.

It also takes another team out of the running to land Jimmy Garoppolo, who is a goner. We’ve been saying that for months, and instead of pretending like that wasn’t the case, Kyle Shanahan all but said so during his press conference with the media on Monday.

Trading Teddy for a sixth-rounder doesn’t help Jimmy’s valuation. I’m not comparing the two, as Garoppolo is a superior player, but I thought that the 49ers could receive a second-round pick for Jimmy G. I’m not sure that’s the case after this trade.

Carolina and Denver no longer need a QB. That leaves Washington, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and, of course, New England. We’ll see if one of these teams gets desperate and send a premium pick to San Francisco. That’s what it seems like the 49ers are relying on to happen.