There was buzz among the Miami Dolphin fan base surrounding New Orleans Saints back-up quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. Finally, a possible replacement for 2018 starter Ryan Tannehill!

That possibility was squashed by Bridgewater’s decision last night to remain with the Saints on a 1-year with $7.25 million guaranteed contract, with $5 million more in incentives — but did he has pass up a better long-term opportunity?

Make no mistake, there’s plenty of reason for the sixth-year man out of Louisville to stay on board with the Saints. Reports state that he enjoys the locker room culture in New Orleans. Part of that experience is observing a future Hall of Famer at work in the twilight of his career via Drew Brees.

And yes, that is a great opportunity for Bridgewater to sharpen himself before he returns to the field. After all, Bridgewater has only started one contest since making the Pro Bowl in 2015.

That was, of course, before his horrific knee injury in a 2016 off-season practice. Perhaps he is proceeding with utmost caution in returning and there’s plenty to be said for being paid to wait your turn to take the franchise over.

But what is the ceiling in The Big Easy? Not only is Brees aging, so too are several mainstays on the team. Meanwhile the Saints’ receivers and tight ends are all relatively modest with the exception of Pro Bowler Michael Thomas.

Yes, Bridgewater will have ground support in the form of Alvin Kamara, but unless the Saints draft particularly well or make some big acquisitions, the weapons “Teddy B” will have when (or better yet *if*) he takes over for Brees won’t be stellar.

Unless Bridgewater achieves a resurgence on par with Randall Cunningham or even a young Drew Brees out of San Diego, head coach Sean Payton’s long-term stability without Brees can be speculated on, as well.

Should that come into reality, Saints fans would turn sour on the successor of the immortal Drew Bress similar to the way Miami fans shellacked Jay Fiedler in the immediate years post-Dan Marino, simply for failing to meet unrealistic expectations.

But in the name of allegedly asking for “life-changing money” in his meeting with the Dolphins, Bridgewater passed up playing under a head coach with a dynasty’s pedigree and the security of a five-year contract. The Dolphins hold low expectations, given their rebuild. And Bridgewater would have every reason to take some time getting his feet under him as a starter.

Instead of selecting a chance to become a hero in South Florida, Bridgewater opted to stay in New Orleans, who have almost no-where to go but down sans-Drew Brees. It is what it is. But best of luck to Bridgewater as he rolls the dice by making the “safe” choice.