Broncos head coach Vic Fangio names Teddy Bridgewater starting QB

Head coach Vic Fangio has named Teddy Bridgewater as the Broncos’ starting quarterback. That leaves incumbent starter Drew Lock as the team’s QB2, raising long-term questions about his future in Denver.

The Broncos have started 10 players at quarterback since Peyton Manning‘s March 2016 retirement. They’ve tried all possible avenues: free agency (Case Keenum, the second Brock Osweiler acquisition), the trade market (Joe Flacco, Bridgewater) and the draft (Lock, Paxton Lynch). After all of that, they’ve done no better than 9-7 since Manning left.

Now they’ll hand things over to Bridgewater. His three-year, $63M deal didn’t pan out for the Panthers, but the Broncos have him at a much more reasonable rate. Bridgewater’s 2021 cap hit will be just $4.4M. After that, he’ll be a free agent.

Bridgewater finished 17th in QBR last season while Lock ranked 29th. The 2019 second-rounder tied for the NFL lead in INTs (15) despite missing three games. In his defense, he was thrust into an unusual spot in 2020 — learning a brand new offense in a virtual offseason. He was also without top receiver Courtland Sutton for most of the year.

Bridgewater, meanwhile, will aim for better results. He’s got a lot working in his favor, including familiarity with Pat Shurmur‘s offense.