The 49ers ‘reported interest in the Carolina Panthers’ quarterback, Teddy Bridgewater, was nothing more than San Francisco doing its “due diligence”.
Joseph Person, who reported for the first time on Monday that the 49ers called the Panthers about Bridgewater, told KNBR’s “Tolbert, Krueger & Brooks” on Tuesday (h / t 49ers Webzone) that the 49ers call did not it necessarily indicated that an exchange was underway, much less imminent.
“I really think that at this point, you could call it ‘preliminary’, ‘due diligence’, anything like that,” said Person on Tuesday. “By the way, there are other teams that have called them up. It turns out that the Niners are the only ones that have been identified.”
Bridgewater, 28, signed a three-year contract with the Panthers in the last off-season worth up to $ 63 million. The QB had a career record of 3,733 yards and had a 69.1% completion rate in 15 matches in 2020, averaging 7.6 yards per attempt, the career record.
The Panthers, according to Person, are exploring options to upgrade on Bridgewater, with coach Matt Rhule saying that Bridgewater needs to have a great off-season and owner David Tepper reporting that Carolina is still looking for a QB franchise.
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The 49ers’ interest in Bridgewater would be reinforcing, Person reported on Monday after general manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan supported Jimmy Garoppolo as a starter after an injury-ridden 2020.
CJ Beathard and Nick Mullens, Garoppolo’s main backups last season, are set to become unrestricted and restricted free agents, respectively, in this off-season. Josh Johnson and Josh Rosen are the only other 49ers defenders currently under contract.
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