New Orleans trades draft picks for backup QB Teddy Bridgewater, reports say

The New Orleans Saints are trading for New York Jets quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, according to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

The trade is expected to include unspecified draft picks.

Bridgewater comes to the Saints after an offseason with the Jets in which he competed with rookie and No. 3 overall pick Sam Darnold for the starting job. The trade indicates Darnold has won that race and will be the Jets’ Week 1 starter.

Bridgewater, then the starting quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings, missed all of the 2016 season after a significant knee injury in the previous offseason. He appeared in just one game for the Vikings last season, attempting just two passes. Prior to that year he appeared in 29 games, passing for 6,150 yards and 28 touchdowns.

He also led the Vikings to a playoff victory in 2015 over the Seattle Seahawks.

Bridgewater joins a Saints team with star quarterback Drew Brees, and a room of backups including second-year player Taysom Hill, journeyman Tom Savage and former Ohio State star J.T. Barrett.

Hill and Savage competed throughout the preseason for the backup job.

Bridgewater starred at the University of Louisville from 2011-’13 leading his college team.

This story was originally published August 29, 2018 at 2:13 PM.