How Teddy Bridgewater trade could affect Raiders

Whenever a division rival adds a quarterback, it is worth examining.

And that’s what happened on this NFL draft eve as the Denver Broncos swung a trade with the Carolina Panthers for quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.

The trade could impact the Las Vegas Raiders in a number of ways.

Let’s look how:

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Will the Broncos still take a quarterback at No. 9?
There has been talk the Broncos would take North Dakota State’s Trey Lance or Ohio State’s Justin Fields at No. 9 if one of them were available. In my opinion, I don’t think the addition of Bridgewater should change the Broncos’ plan as he is only signed for one year. Why would a team change it’s long-term draft plans for a one-year rental? My mock has Lance going to Denver and I’m not changing that, for what it’s worth.

Could Parsons be taken off the board:
If, however, the Broncos do bypass a quarterback at No. 9, there is a good chance they could take Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons. That would bum the Raiders out because they like him. I did a mock draft on a Jacksonville radio station Wednesday and Parsons did slip past Denver, by the way.

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Bridgewater probably doesn’t make Denver a huge threat in 2021:
Bridgewater is a marginal starter at best. So if he is the guy in Denver this season, I don’t see this team taking a big leap. That’s why Denver should take a quarterback at No. 9. So, the addition of Bridgewater likely doesn’t have Jon Gruden shaking in his boots. If they get Lance, Gruden might worry for the long-term, however.

This probably means the end of Drew Lock era:
Whether or not the Broncos take their quarterback of the future Thursday, this probably signals that they don’t believe in Drew Lock. Yes, Bridgewater is competition for Lock for now but if the Broncos truly believed in Lock, they wouldn’t have made this trade. That’s another bummer for the Raiders as Lock was pretty bad against them.