DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Bridgewater didn't want to play for the Browns because he knew not everyone was on board

'Teddy Bridgewater didn't want to play for Cleveland Browns in part because he knew not everyone was on board, source says'

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By Mary Kay Cabot, Northeast Ohio Media Group on January 30, 2015 at 7:16 PM, updated January 30, 2015 at 7:36 PM

PHOENIX, Ariz. -- Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who's up for Pepsi Rookie of the Year, didn't want to play for the Browns in part because he knew that not everyone in the organization was on board with drafting him, a league source told Northeast Ohio Media Group.

Bridgewater, who made the rounds at radio row at the Super Bowl Friday, was selected No. 32 overall by the Vikings and had a sensational rookie season.

The source said Bridgewater knew that some in the organization really liked him and that others wanted Johnny Manziel instead.

Browns coach Mike Pettine said at the draft that they had Manziel ranked No. 1 among quarterbacks on their draft board and that he was in the conversation at No. 4. The Browns traded up from No. 26 to No. 22 to select Manziel, sending a third round pick to the Eagles to move up. The Vikings tabbed Bridgewater 10 spots later.

After the draft, Bridgewater revealed on the Dan Patrick Show that he didn't really want to go to Cleveland anyway.

"There was a chance, but I actually told my agent that's not the place where I wanted to be,'' he said. "Throughout this entire process I felt comfortable with the Minnesota Vikings. Every visit that I had with the team, you know, there was a family environment and the players, great guys. A great group of guys. So I felt comfortable wanting to play here."

Turns out, Bridgewater also knew that there wasn't a consensus on him in the building. he wasn't the Browns' unanimous pick.

Bridgewater, who went 6-6 as a starter, finished 22nd in the NFL with an 85.2 rating -- seventh-best in NFL history among rookies. He threw for 2,919 yards with 14 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, and his 64.4 completion percentage was third highest by a rookie in NFL history, behind Ben Roethlisberger and Robert Griffin III.

Meanwhile, Manziel flopped in his two late-season starts and the Browns are hoping he can live up to his first-round status next season.

Early last offseason, the Browns commissioned a study on the top quarterbacks in the draft, and the results said Bridgewater was their man. But by the time the draft rolled around in May, the sentiment shifted to Manziel.

Ray Farmer has stressed that he made the call on Manziel, not Browns owner Jimmy Haslam.

A source also told Northeast Ohio Media Group that former Browns offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan wasn't sold on either Manziel or Bridgewater, preferring Patriots backup Jimmy Garoppolo and Texans backup Tom Savage instead.



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Just for the record, I wanted Teddy too. and Garoppolo was my second pick for a QB.

Instead we got this guy:



Yep, things are certainly lookin' up in Browns Town!

P.S. If I didn't laugh about it, I'd probably cry.

Well, if Bridgewater keeps bringing this up- maybe he did want to play for the browns..... otherwise, why keep bringing it up. Old story and nothing new to see here.

Might be so. Now just one more guy to beat. And I liked Garapalo as well.

Is that why our play calling looked like someone was drawing plays in the dirt?

Wow! So Bridgewater made himself available to the media on Friday, yet the article's BIG headline is supported by an anonymous source and the Bridgewater quote is from months ago. Hard to find fault though when it's that easy to pander to the many in our dumbed down village. Why bother doing any real work when you can put up a tagline that'll get hits, phone it in, and crack a cold one? I'm tellin' ya', if I didn't have a family I really think I would move to Montana where nobody is and just fish and farm dental floss.

He isn't continually bringing it up. Read carefully, those comments were made long ago. MK craftily wove the Super Bowl rounds into it while quoting old news.

She has a habit of rewording articles from a year ago.

I like how shanny supposedly didn't want Manziel but his QB guys wanted him bad. If its true that he liked Jimmy better ... well i have more respect for him at least ^^

Bridgewater was always the smart one. I thought it was his selling point last year. If this is true then he basically confirms a little bit more that he was the smart one. A house divided cannot itself stand. Best not to enter that house.

It's pretty sad when someone wants to go to Minnesota over Cleveland.

I'm not saying it's Newark vs Acapolco but if I had my pick between a team that was unified in wanting me and had a specific plan in place vs one that was playing the hokey pokey with me, I'd go with the former.

You wonder why national media breaks the story before the locals. It is sad when the best reporters for news on Cleveland football is Cabot and Grossi.

Why? At the time of the draft, Minnesota had a guy with the initials AP starting in their backfield. Why wouldn't a young QB rather go to a team where he could (at that time) hand off to AP at any time. Further, the Vikings had receivers at the time.

Think back to where the Browns were at that time. We had signed Tate and Hawkins as our 2 big free agents on the offensive side. We had a great OL, but little in the way of weapons for a young QB. Minnesota was probably a better p[lace for a young QB to go at that point.

Before too long, you'll be a "mennil toss flycoon"...


nice obscure reference, Dawg!

I am in the same boat... a fwe of us took a tonnnn of heat about JFF.

I brokedown film on JFF and Bridgewater. it was pretty apparent JFF sucked.

I wanted Bridgewater over the other QBs in last year's draft (I actually didn't think any of them would be franchise types)

I was cautiously optimistic that Manziel would show some positive flashes ... however, he looks to be a waste at this point

Homeless guy broke the tie, and so the choice was Manziel.

I think we need to keep in mind that TB made the comments AFTER the draft. He was already in Minnesota.

Exactly, what was he going to say,I wanted to be in Cleveland?

No news here.

Yup. If we would have drafted him it's not like he wasn't going to sign because he thought not everyone was on board. He would have been all about Cleveland and the Browns.

Amazing the crap that gets reported this time of year.

amazing someone is so inept at creative journalism they have to rehash a story from 11 months ago and make it appear as if its something new lol