NFL Draft 2021: Does trading Teddy Bridgewater mean the Carolina Panthers are selecting a QB?

A year after signing Teddy Bridgewater, the Carolina Panthers traded the veteran quarterback to the Denver Broncos on Wednesday.

Earlier, Carolina had gone out and traded for Sam Darnold, which started rumors of Bridgewater being traded out. Now that the Panthers have traded Teddy Bridgewater, does this open the door for the Carolina Panthers to select a quarterback at No. 8?

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NFL Draft 2021: Will the Carolina Panthers draft a quarterback with the No. 8 pick?

Denver Broncos v Carolina Panthers

Matt Rhule is extremely confident that Sam Darnold has the ability to lead the team. However, the Panthers do need to prepare themselves for a situation where Sam Darnold is unable to deliver what they want from a franchise quarterback. This puts Carolina in an interesting situation with their eighth pick in the draft.

Thank you @teddyb_h2o pic.twitter.com/J9Op2PlSSM

— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) April 28, 2021

There are a number of options for Carolina. They can draft Micah Parsons or one of the top corners in this year's draft. Another option is to call the New England Patriots or Chicago Bears to strike a trade.

Both the Patriots and Bears have been interested in moving up to select a quarterback. It will come down to which team makes the best offer. As of right now, both teams have great offers for the Carolina Panthers.

The New England Patriots have the 15th overall pick and could offer to swap picks with Carolina with an offer to give them future picks.

Chicago has the 20th overall pick and could make an offer that helps the Bears keep that pick. In exchange, the Bears can offer wide receiver Allen Robinson, or a defensive player.

Offering Robinson to the Panthers should allow the Bears to retain the No. 20 pick and get the No. 8 pick as well. But should they choose to offer any other defensive player, it is likely they will have to add a little on top for the deal to go through.

"With the 8th pick the Carolina Panthers select Mac Jo-" pic.twitter.com/Q8OQZ65pq3

— Jay (@panther84763990) April 27, 2021

The safe choice for the Carolina Panthers is to keep the No. 8 pick and draft Micah Parsons. Regardless of off-field issues, Parsons is the most talented defensive prospects in this year's draft.

The risky option is to trade away the eighth overall pick to the New England Patriots. The last thing NFL teams want is Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels drafting one of the top quarterback prospects.

Carolina has less than a day to figure out what they want to do with their first-round pick. It'll be interesting to see what the Carolina Panthers finally decide on with so many compelling options available.