Teddy Bridgewater went 5-0 as a starter for the Saints after Drew Brees injured his thumb in a Week 2 loss to the Rams. His passer rating was over 100 in three of those games and 94.7 in another.
He also had his biggest passing day in a 31-24 win over the Bucs in October, going 26 of 34 for 314 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. Arians listened that day while the crowd at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome chanted “Ted-dy! Ted-dy! Ted-dy!
“I’ve always loved Teddy," Arians said after the game. “He’s a good, solid player and should be a starter in this league."
Bridgewater proved it by completing 67.9 percent of his passes with nine touchdowns and only two interceptions this season. A chance to come back to his home state and be a starting quarterback again may be appealing to the Miami native.
Bridgewater won’t offer the arm talent for providing explosive plays in the passing game the way Winston has, but it’s a trade off for reducing turnovers. His career average yards-per-pass is 7.2, a half yard shy of Winston’s 7.7.
But the Bucs may be willing to sacrifice a few deep passes for protecting the football. Bridgwater’s career interception rate is 2.3 percent. Winston’s is 3.5 percent on his career and 4.8 this season.
The Bucs plan to take a couple weeks to evaluate Winston and weigh their options. Arians says part of the decision will be based on “what’s behind Door No. 2.”
