The 49ers’ reported interest in Carolina Panthers quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was no more than San Francisco doing its “due diligence.”
Joseph Person, who first reported 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 didn’t necessarily indicate a trade is in the works, let alone imminent.
“I do think, at this point, you could call it ‘preliminary,’ ‘due diligence,’ anything along those lines,” Person said Tuesday. “By the way, there are other teams that have called them. It just happens that the Niners are the only ones that have been identified.”
Bridgewater, 28, signed a three-year contract with the Panthers last offseason worth up to $63 million. The QB threw for a career-high 3,733 yards and had a 69.1 percent completion percentage in 15 starts in 2020, averaging a career-high 7.6 yards per attempt.
The Panthers, according to Person, are exploring options to upgrade on Bridgewater, with coach Matt Rhule saying Bridgewater needs to have a great offseason and owner David Tepper intimating Carolina still is looking for a franchise QB.
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The 49ers’ interest in Bridgewater would be as a backup, Person reported Monday, after general manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan have backed Jimmy Garoppolo as their starter following an injury-riddled 2020.
C.J. Beathard and Nick Mullens, Garoppolo’s primary backups last season, are set to become unrestricted and restricted free agents, respectively, this offseason. Josh Johnson and Josh Rosen are the 49ers’ only other quarterbacks currently under contract.
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