The Denver Broncos named offseason trade acquisition Teddy Bridgewater as the team’s starting quarterback to open the season, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Wednesday.

The 28-year-old Bridgewater was traded to Denver this offseason after spending 2020 with the Carolina Panthers. He threw for 3,733 yards and 15 touchdowns on 340-of-492 passing and finished as fantasy’s QB19. He replaces Drew Lock, the Broncos’ second-round pick in 2019, who started 18 games for the team over the last two years and combined for 23 touchdowns and 18 interceptions.

Teddy Bridgewater named Denver starter, Fantasy Football Impact

Fantasy analysis: This is more interesting for real football than fantasy — regardless of who was starting for this team, no one was drafting Bridgewater or Lock in fantasy outside of super-deep and/or two-QB leagues. But this does matter for the team’s skill players. Bridgewater is much more of a dink-and-dunk QB option, meaning the team’s deep threats — primarily Courtland Sutton — probably take a hit here. Meanwhile, this is a small boost for Jerry Jeudy and Noah Fant. The biggest result, though, could just be a bump for the team’s backfield mix of Javonte Williams and Melvin Gordon. — Daniel Kelley