Background and career
Theodore Edmond Bridgewater Jr. (born November 10, 1992) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. He played college football for the Louisville Cardinals, winning Big East Offensive Player of The Year in 2012 and leading the NCAA in completion percentage the following season. Bridgewater 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 during the 2016 offseason, Bridgewater appeared in only one game over the next two years. He joined the New Orleans Saints in 2018 as a backup, becoming the starter in relief of Drew Brees for five games the following year and helping contribute to them winning their division. Bridgewater later held starting roles with the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos for one season each before serving as a backup for the Lions, Miami Dolphins, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After retiring from the NFL in 2023, Bridgewater became the head football coach at Miami Northwestern, his former high school, and led them to a state championship. Bridgewater returned to the NFL a year later, rejoining the Lions and Buccaneers as a backup before retiring in 2026.
The son of Teddy Bridgewater Sr. and Rose Murphy, Bridgewater was born in Miami, Florida, on November 10, 1992. He attended Miami Northwestern Senior High School. The school's football field was later renamed in Bridgewater's honor. As a sophomore, he replaced Jacory Harris as starting quarterback and took over a team that had been named the 2007 national champions by USA Today the previous year. Bridgewater completed 97 of 160 attempts (60.6 percent) for 1,560 yards over the season, throwing 16 touchdowns with three interceptions. He also rushed 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. 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 seven touchdowns. Bridgewater 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. He played in the 2011 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. Bridgewater originally committed to the University of Miami in June 2010. However, after the firing of Miami head coach Randy Shannon in November 2010, Bridgewater switched his commitment to the University of Louisville.
As a freshman at Louisville in 2011, Bridgewater entered the season as a backup to Will Stein. However, by the Cardinals' fourth game of the season against Marshall, Bridgewater was starting and remained the starter the rest of the year. He finished the season completing 191 of 296 passes for 2,129 yards, 14 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. For his play, Bridgewater 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. 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, Bridgewater led his team to a win, a Big East title, and a berth to the BCS. He finished the regular season completing 267-of-387 passes for 3,452 yards, 25 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. Bridgewater finished sixth in the nation in completion percentage, eighth in yards per attempt, and seventh in passing efficiency. For his play, Bridgewater was named the Big East Offensive Player of the Year. The Cardinals entered the 2013 Sugar Bowl against the Florida Gators as decided underdogs. Although Florida boasted the nation's #1 pass efficiency defense, Bridgewater passed for 266 yards and two touchdowns to become the game's MVP during a 33–23 victory. As a junior in 2013, Bridgewater completed 303-of-427 passes for 3,970 yards, 31 touchdowns, and four interceptions, leading the NCAA with a 71% completion percentage. In his final college game against the Miami Hurricanes in the 2013 Russell Athletic Bowl, Bridgewater completed 35-of-42 passes for 447 yards three touchdowns and was named the game's MVP.
As early as April 2013, Bridgewater was seen as one of the top prospects for the 2014 NFL draft, alongside Jadeveon Clowney and Johnny Manziel. Reports said that, had Bridgewater been eligible for the 2013 draft, he most likely would have been the first quarterback taken. At one point, Bridgewater was projected by many to be the first overall pick in the draft. On January 1, 2014, he announced that he would forgo his final year of eligibility at Louisville.
Bridgewater was selected by the Minnesota Vikings as the 32nd and final pick of the first round of the draft. Minnesota had traded their second-round and fourth-round picks to the Seattle Seahawks to move up and select Bridgewater. He signed a four-year contract worth $6.85 million with a $3.3 million signing bonus with the Vikings. Bridgewater entered the season as the second-string quarterback, behind veteran Matt Cassel, but ahead of Christian Ponder. During a Week 3 20–9 road loss to the New Orleans Saints, Bridgewater made his NFL debut, entering in relief of the injured Cassel and finished with 150 passing yards and 27 rushing yards. Bridgewater was named the starting quarterback for the remainder of the season after Cassel was placed on injured reserve with a broken foot. During Week 4, Bridgewater made his first NFL start against the Atlanta Falcons. He finished the 41–28 victory with 317 passing yards to go along with 27 rushing yards and a touchdown. After spraining his ankle during the Falcons matchup, Bridgewater was inactive for the next game against the Green Bay Packers. However, he was able to recover in time for the Week 6 game against the Detroit Lions. Despite his return, a weak offensive line against a strong Lions' defense led to a 17–3 rout. Bridgewater was intercepted thrice, twice from tipped passes, and was sacked eight times. During Week 7 against the Buffalo Bills, Bridgewater threw his first NFL touchdown pass to Cordarrelle Patterson. Although he was sacked five times and threw two interceptions, Bridgewater helped the Vikings get a 16–10 lead, but the effort was negated by the Bills' comeback which put them up 17–16 with no time left to retaliate. In the next game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Bridgewater threw for 241 yards and a touchdown and was sacked once. He led a game-tying drive to force overtime, where fellow first-round pick Anthony Barr made a fumble recovery on the Bucs' first overtime play, giving the Vikings a 19–13 overtime road victory. His third win as a starter, a 29–26 comeback victory over the Washington Redskins, broke a franchise record shared by Fran Tarkenton and Ponder for wins among starting rookie quarterbacks. In the following weeks, Bridgewater added to this record with wins over the Carolina Panthers, New York Jets, and Chicago Bears (Weeks 13, 14, and 17 respectively). In the win against the Jets, wide receiver Jarius Wright turned a screen pass from Bridgewater into an 87-yard touchdown, giving the Vikings another overtime victory. Bridgewater finished his rookie year with 2,919 passing yards, 14 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and an 85.2 passer rating, to go along with 209 rushing yards and a touchdown in 13 games with 12 starts. On January 13, 2015, Bridgewater was selected as the quarterback of the 2014 NFL All-Rookie team by the Pro Football Writers of America, joining Tommy Kramer as the only Vikings' quarterbacks to claim this award. Bridgewater also won the 2014 Pepsi Rookie of the Year award, as voted by fans.
Bridgewater threw for 231 yards and an interception behind a struggling offensive line that allowed five sacks in the season-opening 20–3 road loss to the San Francisco 49ers. He threw only 18 times the next game, but completed 14 of those passes for 153 yards and threw his first touchdown pass of the year to tight end Kyle Rudolph in a 26–16 victory over the Lions in Minnesota's home opener. Bridgewater had some struggles the following week against the San Diego Chargers, going 13 of 24 for 121 yards and one interception but won the game 31–14 with a strong performance by the defense and running back Adrian Peterson. Bridgewater rebounded in Week 4, going 27-of-41 for 269 yards and a touchdown to Mike Wallace against the Denver Broncos who had the number one ranked defense coming into the game. Minnesota still lost on the road 23–20 as Bridgewater was sacked seven times. Coming off of a bye week, Bridgewater threw for 249 yards and another touchdown pass to Rudolph, but threw two interceptions in a 16–10 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. Bridgewater then had arguably the best game of his career the following week against the Lions going 25-of-35 for 316 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions, including his first touchdown pass to rookie Stefon Diggs. The 28–19 road victory was Bridgewater's fourth career 300+ yard passing game, and the second 300+ passing game of his career against the Lions. The following week against the Bears, Bridgewater led his fourth career fourth-quarter comeback despite having a below-average day going 17-of-30 for 187 yards, a touchdown, and an interception in the 23–20 road victory. Bridgewater went 13 of 21 for 144 yards and an interception while also rushing for a touchdown and two-point conversion against the St. Louis Rams before sustaining a blow to the head by the Rams' safety Lamarcus Joyner that caused Bridgewater to leave the game in the fourth quarter. Minnesota still managed to pull off a 21–18 overtime victory. At home against the Bears in Week 15, Bridgewater completed 17 of 20 pass attempts for 231 yards, four touchdowns, and a rushing touchdown during a 38–17 victory, giving him a career-high passer rating (154.4). Two weeks later in a fight for the NFC North Division Title against the Packers, Bridgewater connected only 52.6% of his passes for 99 yards and an interception. Despite his career-lowest passer rating (45.7), the Vikings pulled off a 20–13 victory and won their first division title since 2009. Bridgewater finished his second professional season with 3,231 passing yards, 14 touchdowns, and nine interceptions to go along with 192 rushing yards and three touchdowns in 16 games and starts. During the Wild Card Round against the Seahawks in one of the coldest games ever played, Bridgewater was 17-of-24 for 146 yards as the Vikings fell 10–9 after Blair Walsh missed a 27-yard field goal. On January 25, 2016, Bridgewater was named to his first Pro Bowl.
