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Teddy Bridgewater

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Teddy Bridgewater
No. 10 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Position:  Quarterback
Personal information
Born:   (1992-11-10) November 10, 1992 (age 33)
 Miami, Florida
Listed height:  6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed height:  210 in (95 kg)
Career information
High school:  Miami Northwestern
 (Miami, Florida)
College:  Louisville
NFL Draft:  2014 / Rnd: 1 / Pck: 32nd
Career history
Roster status: Active
* = Offseason/Practice squad
Career highlights and awards
  • Pro Bowl (2015)
  • Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year (2014)
  • PFWA All-Rookie Team (2014)
  • Second-team All-AAC (2013)
  • Big East Offensive Player of The Year (2012)
  • First-team All-Big East (2012)
  • Big East Rookie of the Year (2011)

Player stats: nfl.com   pro-football-reference

Thedore "Teddy" Bridgewater, Jr. (born November 10, 1992) is an American professional football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Louisville Cardinals, winning the 2013 Sugar Bowl, and was selected as the final first round pick of the 2014 NFL draft by the Minnesota Vikings. During his second season, Bridgewater led the Vikings to a division title and earned Pro Bowl honors.

Upon suffering a severe leg injury the 2016 offseason, Bridgewater appeared in only one game over the next two years. Bridgewater joined the New Orleans Saints in 2018 as a backup, but served as the team's starter in relief of Drew Brees the following year for five games and helped contribute to them winning their division. Bridgewater later held starting roles with the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos for one season each and spent his last two seasons as a backup for the Miami Dolphins and Detroit Lions. After initially retiring from the NFL in 2023, Bridgewater became the head football coach at Miami Northwestern, his former high school. Bridgewater returned to the Lions in 2024 after leading Miami Northwestern to a state championship.

Career[]

High school career[]

Teddy attended Miami Northwestern High School in his hometown Miami, Florida.[1] In his sophomore year, he replaced Jacory Harris as starting quarterback and took over a team that had been named the 2007 national champions by USA Today. He completed 97 of 160 attempts (60.6 percent) for 1,560 yards over the season, throwing 16 touchdowns with three interceptions. He also carried 45 times for 211 yards (4.7 average) and two more scores. Northwestern finished the season 13–3, falling short to Seminole High School of Sanford 28–21 in the 6A state title game.[2]

As a junior, Bridgewater passed for 2,546 yards and 32 touchdowns and rushed for 379 yards and five more scores. In a late-September game against Hialeah-Miami Lakes High School, he completed 19 of 24 passes for 327 yards and a Dade County record of seven touchdowns.[3] He was named second team All-State for 6A classification and first team All-County by the Miami Herald. Northwestern finished the season 10–2, after a 29–16 loss to rival Miami Central High School.

As a senior, Bridgewater had 2,606 passing yards and 22 touchdowns despite missing parts of the season with a medial collateral ligament injury. He also rushed for 223 yards and eight more scores. Northwestern had a 9–3 record for the season, losing 42–27 to Miami Central in the 6-A semifinals, in which he threw for 436 yards and scored four touchdowns.

Regarded as a four-star recruit, Bridgewater was considered the sixth best dual-threat quarterback prospect in the nation by Rivals.com.[4] He played in the 2011 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.[5]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight 40‡ Commit date
Teddy Bridgewater
QB 		Miami, Florida Miami Northwestern High School 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 0 pounds (0 kg) 4.7 Dec 10, 2010 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 80
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 6 (QB)   Rivals: 6 (QB), 23 (FL), 113 (National)  ESPN: 9 (QB), 73 (Southeast)
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

As a freshman in 2011, Bridgewater entered the season as a backup to Will Stein but started the Cardinals' fourth game of the season against Marshall and remained the starter the rest of the year.[6][7] He finished the season completing 191 of 296 passes for 2,129 yards with 14 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.[8] For his play, he was named the Big East Rookie of the Year and was named a freshman All-American by Rivals.com, Scout.com, CBS Sports, and Sporting News.[9][10][11][12][13]

Collegiate career[]

As a sophomore in 2012, Bridgewater started 11 of 12 regular season games. In his only non-starting action, coming off the bench while injured against Rutgers, he led his team to a win, a Big East title, and a berth to the BCS.[14] He finished the regular season completing 267 of 387 passes for 3,452 yards with 25 touchdowns and just 7 interceptions.[15] He finished 6th in the nation in completion percentage, 8th in yards per attempt, and 7th in passing efficiency. For his play, he was named the Big East Offensive Player of the Year.[16]

In a successful college career at Louisville, Bridgewater won two bowl games: the 2013 Sugar Bowl and the 2013 Russell Athletic Bowl. He also won the Big East Rookie of the Year in 2011.

In 3 years, Bridgewater completed 781 of 1,142 passes for 9,817 yards and 72 touchdowns. He also rushed for 170 yards.

2014 NFL Draft[]

Bridgewater was selected in the first round (32nd overall) by the Vikings. They traded with the Seattle Seahawks to get that pick.Bridgewater was selected by the Minnesota Vikings as the 32nd and final pick of the first round of the draft.[17] The Vikings had traded their second round and fourth round picks to the Seattle Seahawks to move up and select Bridgewater.[18] Bridgewater signed a four-year contract worth $6.85 million with a $3.3 million signing bonus with the Minnesota Vikings.[19]

Professional Career[]

Minnesota Vikings[]

Teddy Brigdewater as teh Minnesota Vikings starting QB in 2014 game.

Teddy Brigdewater as teh Minnesota Vikings starting QB in 2014 game.

Bridgewater entered the season as the second-string quarterback, behind veteran Matt Cassel but ahead of Christian Ponder.[20] Bridgewater made his regular season debut on September 21, 2014 against the New Orleans Saints, entering in relief of the injured Cassel and finishing the game with 150 passing yards.[21]

Having wrested the staring QB job, Bridgewater finished the 2014 season with 2,919 yards passing, 14 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and an 85.2 passer rating.[22] He played in 13 games, starting 12 of them. On January 13, 2015, Bridgewater was selected as the quarterback of the 2014 NFL All-Rookie team by the Pro Football Writers of America.[23] Bridgewater also won the 2014 Pepsi Rookie of the Year award, as voted by fans.[24]

2016 season[]

During a team practice on August 30, 2016, Bridgewater suffered a non-contact injury to his left leg. A subsequent MRI confirmed that he had torn his ACL and suffered other structural damage, including a dislocation of the knee joint. As a result, he missed the rest of the 2016 season.[25][26] After the loss of Bridgewater for at least the 2016 season, the Vikings traded a first-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft and a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft to the Philadelphia Eagles for quarterback Sam Bradford.[27][28] In 2016, the Vikings went 8-8, finishing third in the NFC North and missing the playoffs, despite starting the season with a 5-0 record.[29]

2017 season[]

Originally, the media reported that Bridgewater's injury would keep him out for 17–19 months, meaning he would miss the entire 2017 season. In January 2017, doctors confirmed that the healing would indeed take 19 months.[30]

On May 1, 2017, the Vikings declined the fifth-year option on Bridgewater's contract, making him a free agent after the 2017 season.[31]

Bridgewater began throwing and doing individual work in May at Vikings mini-camps. Head coach Mike Zimmer said on June 6, that Bridgewater "has a long way to go" until he is fully healed, but was impressed by his rehabilitation progress to that point.[32] However, on September 2, the Vikings announced that he would begin the season on the PUP List, meaning that he would miss the first six games to begin the year.[33] On October 16, he was cleared to practice, but couldn't return to action for 3 more weeks.[34][35] Bridgewater was activated off PUP to the active roster on November 8, 2017 to back up Case Keenum.[36][37] Bridgewater entered the Week 15 game against the Cincinnati Bengals in relief of Keenum in the fourth quarter. The whole crowd gave Bridgewater a standing ovation as he walked onto the field.[38] Bridgewater finished with an interception out of two pass attempts as the Vikings won 34-7.[39][40]

New York Jets[]

On March 18, 2018, Bridgewater signed a one-year contract with the New York Jets.[41][42] The contract only guaranteed a $500k signing bonus, though he could make up to a maximum of $15 million from a non-guaranteed salary and incentives. [43]

New Orleans Saints[]

2018 season[]

On August 29, 2018, the Jets traded Bridgewater and a 2019 sixth-round draft pick to the New Orleans Saints for a 2019 third-round draft pick.[44][45]

Bridgewater made his regular-season debut on October 8 against the Washington Redskins, taking a knee twice to close out the game. He did this in two more games later in the season.[46]

On December 28, with the Saints already locking up the #1 seed, it was announced that Bridgewater would start in the season finale against the Carolina Panthers. This would be his first start since 2015 season due to the Saints resting Drew Brees and Taysom Hill.[47] He would throw his first touchdown pass since Week 16 against the New York Giants back when he was in Minnesota. Bridgewater finished the game completing 14 of 22 passes for 118 yards, a touchdown, and an interception as the Saints lost 33–14. He also rushed for 12 yards.[48]

2019 season[]

On March 15, 2019, Bridgewater signed a one-year, $7.25 million fully guaranteed contract with the Saints.[49] During Week 2, he replaced Drew Brees, who left with a right thumb injury, completing 17 of 30 passes for 165 yards in a 27–9 road loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Due to Brees's injury, Bridgewater was named the starting quarterback for Week 3. In that game, Bridgewater completed 19 of 27 passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns as the Saints defeated the Seahawks on the road by a score of 33–27. This was the first game where Bridgewater threw for more than one touchdown in a game since Week 15 of the 2015 season. Two weeks later against the Buccaneers, Bridgewater threw for 314 yards, four touchdowns, and an interception in the 31–24 victory. In the next game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, he had 240 passing yards and a touchdown during the 13–6 road victory. During a Week 7 36–25 victory over the Bears, he threw for 281 yards and two touchdowns. Brees returned from his injury in Week 8 against the Arizona Cardinals.

Carolina Panthers[]

On March 26, 2020, Bridgewater signed a three-year, $63 million contract with the Panthers.

Bridgewater made his Panthers debut in the season-opening 34–30 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders and finished the game with 269 passing yards, including a 75-yard touchdown to former Jets teammate Robby Anderson. In the next game against the Buccaneers, Bridgewater finished with 367 passing yards and two interceptions as the Panthers lost 31–17. The following week against the Los Angeles Chargers, Bridgewater threw for 235 yards and a touchdown during the 21–16 win. This was Bridgewater's first win as a Panther. In Week 5 against the Falcons, Bridgewater threw for 313 yards and two touchdowns during the 23–16 victory. In Week 9 against the Chiefs, he threw for 310 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 19 yards and another touchdown during the narrow 33–31 loss.

Bridgewater finished the 2020 season with career-high totals in several statistics, including completions (340), passing yards (3,733), touchdowns (15) and rushing yards (279).

Denver Broncos[]

On April 28, 2021, weeks after the Panthers acquired Sam Darnold in a trade with the Jets, Bridgewater was traded to the Broncos in exchange for a 2021 sixth-round pick. The team brought in Bridgewater to compete with incumbent quarterback Drew Lock, and the players split starts throughout the 2021 preseason. On August 25, the Broncos announced that Bridgewater had won the starting job.

On September 12, Bridgewater made his Broncos debut on the road against the New York Giants, completing 28-of-36 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns in a 27–13 season-opening victory. He then led the team to 2–0 with a victory over the Jaguars in Week 2 with a 328-yard, two-touchdown day. The Broncos started 3–0 before losing five of their next seven games. Bridgewater suffered a concussion in the Broncos Week 15 loss to the Bengals (which made them 7–7) that would rule him out for the rest of the season. Bridgewater was placed on injured reserve on January 5, 2022. He finished the 2021 season with 3,052 passing yards, 18 touchdowns, and seven interceptions to go along with 106 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

Miami Dolphins[]

On March 17, 2022, Bridgewater signed a one-year contract with the Miami Dolphins worth up to $10 million.

Bridgewater made his Dolphins debut in Week 3 against the Bills after starter Tua Tagovailoa briefly left the game in the second quarter. He attempted two passes and was sacked once before Tagovailoa returned in the second half. During Week 4 against the Bengals, Bridgewater came in the second quarter after Tagovailoa left the game with a head and neck injury. Bridgewater threw for 193 yards, a touchdown, and an interception in the 27–15 loss. In the next game against the Jets, Bridgewater committed an intentional grounding penalty that occurred in the endzone for a safety. During the play, he was hit by Sauce Gardner and left the game due to a concussion. The following week against his former team, the Vikings, Bridgewater came into the game in relief of Skylar Thompson and passed for 329 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions in the 24–16 loss.

Following Tua Tagovailoa entering concussion protocols after their Week 16 loss against the Packers, head coach Mike McDanielannounced that Bridgewater would start against the New England Patriots in Week 17. In the game, Bridgewater completed 12-of-19 passes for 161 yards, a touchdown, and an interception that was returned for a touchdown before exiting the game in the third quarter after suffering a broken finger in his throwing hand. The Dolphins went on to lose 23–21. Due to Bridgewater's injury, third-string rookie quarterback Skylar Thompson made his second start of the season in Week 18 against the Jets.

Detroit Lions[]

On August 10, 2023, Bridgewater signed with the Lions, a move which reunited him with Dan Campbell, the assistant head coach during his time with the Saints.

On December 16, 2023, Bridgewater announced his plans to retire from the NFL following the conclusion of the season, and become a high school football coach. Bridgewater officially announced his retirement for the first time on February 2, 2024.

A year after retirement, Bridgewater announced on NFL Network that he intended to continue his playing career in the NFL, and he was re-signed by the Lions on December 26, 2024, joining Hendon Hooker in backing up starting quarterback Jared Goff for the remainder of the season. Bridgewater briefly appeared in the Divisional Round game against the Washington Commanders, relieving Jared Goff who underwent concussion evaluation for three plays during the second quarter. He completed his only pass for three yards, and handed off the ball in a trick play that led to a 61-yard rushing touchdown from Jameson Williams. Goff returned after the next possession, although the Lions were ultimately upset 45–31 and knocked out of the playoffs.

NFL career statistics[]

Legend
Bold Career high

Regular season[]

Year Team Games Passing Rushing Sacks Fumbles
GP GS Record Cmp Att Pct Yds Y/A Lng TD Int Rtg Att Yds Avg Lng TD Sck SckY Fum Lost
2014 MIN 13 12 6−6 259 402 64.4 2,919 7.3 87 14 12 85.2 47 209 4.4 16 1 39 249 3 0
2015 MIN 16 16 11−5 292 447 65.3 3,231 7.2 52 14 9 88.7 44 192 4.4 19 3 44 307 8 3
2016 MIN Did not play due to injury
2017 MIN 1 0 — 0 2 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 1 0.0 3 −3 −1.0 −1 0 0 0 0 0
2018 NO 5 1 0−1 14 23 60.9 118 5.1 18 1 1 70.6 11 5 0.5 9 0 2 8 0 0
2019 NO 9 5 5−0 133 196 67.9 1,384 7.1 45 9 2 99.1 28 31 1.1 11 0 12 89 1 0
2020 CAR 15 15 4−11 340 492 69.1 3,733 7.6 75 15 11 92.1 53 279 5.3 18 5 31 205 6 3
2021 DEN 14 14 7−7 285 426 66.9 3,052 7.2 64 18 7 94.9 30 106 3.5 13 2 31 211 1 1
2022 MIA 5 2 0−2 49 79 62.0 683 8.6 64 4 4 85.6 3 27 9.0 11 0 7 45 0 0
2023 DET 1 0 — 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 2 −2 −1.0 −1 0 0 0 0 0
2024 DET DNP
Career 79 65 33−32 1,372 2,067 66.4 15,120 7.3 87 75 47 90.5 221 844 3.8 19 11 166 1,114 19 7

Postseason[]

Year Team Games Passing Rushing Sacks Fumbles
GP GS Record Cmp Att Pct Yds Y/A Lng TD Int Rtg Att Yds Avg Lng TD Sck SckY Fum Lost
2015 MIN 1 1 0−1 17 24 70.8 146 6.1 24 0 0 86.5 3 0 0.0 2 0 3 21 0 0
2017 MIN DNP
2018 NO
2019 NO
2022 MIA
2023 DET
2024 DET 1 0 — 1 1 100.0 3 3.0 3 0 0 79.2 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career 2 1 0−1 18 25 72.0 149 6.0 24 0 0 86.9 3 0 0.0 2 0 3 21 0 0

Coaching career[]

After the Lions' 2023 season ended with a loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game, Bridgewater formally confirmed his retirement from playing. He shortly thereafter was named the head coach for Miami Northwestern High School, his alma mater. In his first season, Bridgewater and Miami Northwestern won the Class 3A Florida High School Athletic Association state title.

In July 2025, Bridgewater was suspended from his position as head coach at Miami Northwestern for providing impermissible benefits to his players. These benefits included Uber rides, meals, and recovery services for the team, all being funded by Bridgewater himself.

Personal life[]

Bridgewater grew up in Miami as the youngest of four children to a single mother. He is a Christian. Bridgewater graduated from the University of Louisville with a degree in Sports Administration after the 2013 college football season. His mother, Rose, is a breast cancer survivor. In 2014, soon after her son was drafted by the Vikings, Cadillac presented a pink Escalade to Rose when they learned that Bridgewater had wanted to get her one ever since he was in the third grade.

Head coaching record[]

Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs
Miami Northwestern Bulls () (2024)
2024 Miami Northwestern 12–2 3–0 1st W FHSAA Class 3A Championship
Miami Northwestern: 12–2 3–0
Total: 12–2
Teddy Bridgewater during a game against the Packers in 2020.

Teddy Bridgewater during a game against the Packers in 2020.

References[]

  1. ↑ Codrington, Kynon. "More than a game for Bridgewater", ESPN.com, 2009-10-06. 
  2. ↑ Wommack, Woody. "Seminole rallies from 21-point deficit, stuns Miami Northwestern", December 20, 2008. 
  3. ↑ "Rising Miami star Bridgewater fires seven TDs", MaxPreps, September 28, 2009. 
  4. ↑ Teddy Bridgewater.
  5. ↑ All-American Bowl (in en-US).
  6. ↑ 2011 Louisville Cardinals Stats (in en).
  7. ↑ Marshall at Louisville Box Score, October 1, 2011 (in en).
  8. ↑ Teddy Bridgewater 2011 Game Log (in en).
  9. ↑ U of L Sports - The Courier-Journal - courier-journal.com. The Courier-Journal.
  10. ↑ Watkins leads Freshman All-America Team. Yahoo Sports.
  11. ↑ FoxSportsNext 2011 Freshman All-American Team. Scout.com (12 December 2011). Archived from the original on 12 January 2012.
  12. ↑ CBSSports.com 2011 Freshman All-America team
  13. ↑ Early impact: These freshmen were at the head of their class. Aol.sportingnews.com. Retrieved on 2016-10-31.
  14. ↑ Louisville at Rutgers Box Score, November 29, 2012 (in en).
  15. ↑ Teddy Bridgewater 2012 Game Log (in en).
  16. ↑ Bridgewater, Greene win Big East honors. ESPN.com.
  17. ↑ 2014 NFL Draft Listing (in en).
  18. ↑ Vikings draft Teddy Bridgewater after missing Manziel. NFL.com.
  19. ↑ Chris Tomasson (May 20, 2014). Vikings' Teddy Bridgewater, Anthony Barr sign rookie deals. www.twincities.com. St. Paul Pioneer Press. Retrieved on August 12, 2014.
  20. ↑ Tomasson, Chris (August 26, 2014). Vikings' Christian Ponder says he's no audition for other teams. TwinCities.com. Retrieved on December 13, 2014.
  21. ↑ Goessling, Ben (September 21, 2014). Teddy Bridgewater makes NFL debut. ESPN.com. Retrieved on September 21, 2014.
  22. ↑ Teddy Bridgewater 2014 Game Log (in en).
  23. ↑ 2014 NFL All-Rookie Team (in en).
  24. ↑ Teddy Bridgewater wins Pepsi Rookie of the Year award (in en).
  25. ↑ Zimmer: Not Looking For Excuses ... We Will Fight. Vikings.com (2016-08-31). Retrieved on 2016-10-31.
  26. ↑ Ben Goessling. "Vikings QB Teddy Bridgewater dislocates knee, tears ACL in drill", espn.com, 2016-08-30. 
  27. ↑ Orr, Connor. Sam Bradford traded to Vikings for two draft picks.
  28. ↑ Smith, Alex. Sam Bradford Traded To Minnesota.
  29. ↑ 2016 Minnesota Vikings Statistics & Players (in en).
  30. ↑ Wire, SI. "Report: Bridgewater likely to miss 2017 season". 
  31. ↑ Patra, Kevin (May 1, 2017). Vikes won't use 5th-year option on Teddy Bridgewater.
  32. ↑ http://www.vikings.com/news/article-1/Presser-Points-Zimmer-Impressed-by-Teddy-Bridgewaters-Injury-Rehab-Progress/3c1ba6cd-099b-4788-90f1-640421098e82
  33. ↑ Teddy Bridgewater begins 2017 on PUP List. NFL. Retrieved on September 1, 2017.
  34. ↑ Teddy Bridgewater (knee) cleared by doctor to practice. NFL. Retrieved on October 16, 2017.
  35. ↑ Teddy Bridgewater: I believe I'll play this season. NFL. Retrieved on October 19, 2017.
  36. ↑ Peters, Craig (November 8, 2017). Vikings Activate Teddy Bridgewater, Place Sam Bradford on Injured Reserve.
  37. ↑ Teddy Bridgewater unsure on return to starting QB role. NFL. Retrieved on November 16, 2017.
  38. ↑ WATCH: Bridgewater gets standing ovation in first NFL game in nearly two years.
  39. ↑ Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater makes long awaited return to the field in blowout over Bengals. Star Tribune. Retrieved on December 17, 2017.
  40. ↑ Cincinnati Bengals at Minnesota Vikings - December 17th, 2017 (in en).
  41. ↑ Shook, Nick (March 14, 2018). Teddy Bridgewater's deal with Jets worth up to $15M.
  42. ↑ Greenberg, Ethan (March 18, 2018). Jets Sign QB Teddy Bridgewater. NYJets.com.
  43. ↑ Teddy Bridgewater's Jets contract: Complete breakdown, analysis. Retrieved on March 21, 2018.
  44. ↑ Saints Announce Roster Moves (August 29, 2018). Retrieved on August 31, 2018.
  45. ↑ Jets trade Teddy Bridgewater to New Orleans Saints (August 29, 2018). Retrieved on August 29, 2018.
  46. ↑ Washington Redskins at New Orleans Saints - October 8th, 2018 (in en).
  47. ↑ Teddy Bridgewater will start for Saints vs. Panthers (in en).
  48. ↑ Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints - December 30th, 2018 (in en).
  49. ↑ Saints agree to terms with QB Teddy Bridgewater (March 15, 2019).

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