Teddy Bridgewater: Mike Brown's dream for Cincinnati

- Posted by: mosqueda - @ 2014-05-05 11:49:09

When discussing where Teddy Bridgewater should fall in the first round, there aren't many options. It doesn't sound like Houston is interested in a quarterback early. Oakland even less so, as someone told me point-blank that they won't touch quarterback or the offensive line in the first two days of the draft. Jacksonville seems like they are going to swing at Sammy Watkins at #3 overall. Cleveland's upper brass allegedly likes Johnny Manziel and the other members of the Texas A&M trio high in the draft, while the scouts like Bridgewater. (Side note: the power struggle in Cleveland should be fun to watch this week.)

The places Bridgewater truly makes sense in the first round go as so: Minnesota, Kansas City (if you buy into the recent rumors), Cincinnati, and Cleveland.

One would ask "Why Cincinnati?"

To put it simply: Mike Brown.

The owner of the Cincinnati Bengals has ran what many have called the cheapest team in the league, both as far as paying players and paying scouts. While the new CBA imposes a future salary floor, Brown still doesn't like to commit money to non-elite players. The Bengals currently sit with a little more than 24 million in cap room for 2014. That's the third most in the NFL, only behind Jacksonville and Cleveland, almost two and a half times the NFL average.

To put this into perspective, they let Michael Johnson walk, creating a huge hole at defensive end, and didn't use that money anywhere else. Does anyone really think that Mike Brown, unforced by the market, really wants to invest 15 million dollars, or more, a year into an Andy Dalton extension? When A.J. Green has a jumbo extension coming up and Geno Atkins got injured right after his? Hell, Andy Dalton wasn't even his guy.

Mike Brown has said publically that he wanted Colin Kaepernick, not Andy Dalton with that second round draft choice. Talked into the pick by Jay Gruden, the Bengals did end up chosing Andy Dalton, though. What's even more interesting to me, is what I've heard about what happened immediately after. Mike Brown wasn't just a fan of Kaepernick, but Ryan Mallett, too, and wanted to double down on the quarterback position with a Carson Palmer trade looming. Eventually, the scouts allegedly talked him out of it, and Mallett ended up in New England. Either way, it seems like the lack of commitment the organization has had in Andy Dalton started on Draft Day, 2011.

Also, Jay Gruden isn't in Cincinnati anymore. The former Bengals offensive coordinator is now the head coach in Washington. If Mike Brown really did want to go in three different directions on draft day, and is gun shy about handing out money almost on general principle, why should this Andy Dalton extension seem as sure of a thing as we've been lead to expect? I'm not sure if I really buy into Kansas City moving past Alex Smith already, but there does seem to at least be some tension on paying a quarterback of that caliber the way they're expected to be paid.

I also have it on good authority that E.J. Manuel would have been in play at #21 last year, had he made it there. I would think twice before assuming Cincinnati would turn a shoulder to save what would amount to be about 12 million dollars, or more, during a stretch where A.J. Green is scheduled to get a raise.

What's the worst-case scenario anyway? You hit on neither or you hit on both. You already know what you have in Dalton, so that first one's pretty much out of the window, barring some crazy regression or injury from him. If you hit on both, so what? Cincinnati has experiance with that before, too. In 2003, the Bengals took Carson Palmer #1 overall. They sat him the entire year, Jon Kitna, then the starting quarterback, won the Comeback Player of the Year Award, and was promptly put on the bench for Palmer the next season.

The worst case scenario is the Bengals not having to pay 15 million dollars for an average quarterback, having to settle for a cheaper, younger alternative.

On draft day, look for Cincinnati to potentially make that splash, or someone to jump right before them to make the Teddy Bridgewater selection. It just makes too much sense.

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