Out of the darkness, sharing his light

[Sir Purr]

Panthers coach Matt Rhule has coached long enough to know that injuries can take players to "deep, dark places."


"It's not like 'Hey, I'm injured, I can't play,'" Rhule said. "You wake up, you're in pain, you're constantly having to push your body to the next step. It's getting up early. It becomes part of your life. It's really hard. It can wear on you, it can be depressing, it can be hard, it can be mentally exhausting."


"I think it speaks a lot to Teddy's mental state, his support network, his family, his loved ones. I think it speaks a lot to the doctors and all the rehab people, all the medical people that helped him get to this point.


"And it speaks to his faith. I think it took a lot of faith, both in himself and things far greater than he to get where he is."


Knowing that struggle only adds to the respect he's gained for his quarterback, who plays a role for the Panthers far beyond calling plays and throwing passes.


"He's someone who positively affects the people around him," Rhule said. "He's someone who makes sure the people around him are having a great day. And that's important to me."


Hearing all these stories about him, there's also a temptation to think Bridgewater's perfect. That's not always the case.


"He is definitely cheap," Rhodes said. "He'll definitely try to get out of paying a bill if he can.


"Of course, he also ends up picking it up for other people, more often than not."


Bridgewater happily copped to that. He joked a few weeks ago about celebrating his birthday at Olive Garden for "some salad and some bread." A recent social media post showed him standing next to his minivan, wearing some new promotional gear for the "Little Bear Teddy" book his girlfriend Erika Cardona wrote.


He wrote, "If it's free, it's for me," but said he was only talking about the clothes. The minivan wasn't comped, and it's definitely on purpose.