A high school football state champion coach who recently got suspended from his coaching job is hanging up his whistle and sliding his helmet back on.
That’s right, Teddy Bridgewater is making another NFL comeback.
Bridgewater is meeting with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Tuesday and is expected to sign with the team, according to multiple reports. Should he sign as expected, the 32-year-old journeyman quarterback will be joining his eighth team in a career that will have spanned 11 years since the Minnesota Vikings selected him with the last first-round pick in 2014.
Here’s why the Buccaneers are signing the veteran quarterback:
Why the Buccaneers are signing Teddy Bridgewater
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Tampa Bay is bringing in Bridgewater in response to an injury to third-string quarterback Michael Pratt. Pratt, who spent last season on the Bucs’ practice squad, is dealing with a back injury, leaving starter Baker Mayfield with less depth behind him on the roster.
Schefter also wrote, ‘Bridgewater always has been widely respected and a player others want on their roster.’
Ten months after announcing his retirement from the NFL last February, Bridgewater made his return to the NFL. He signed with the Lions on Dec. 26 after he had led his former high school team to a state championship as their head coach.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell said at the time, ‘To be able to somebody back here that’s got experience – he’s staying in shape, he’s been throwing, just get him worked back in here a little bit – it just brings a level of professionalism, veteran presence, somebody that’s great for our team, great for the position.’
Bridgewater didn’t appear in any regular season games for Detroit, but he made a short appearance in the Lions’ divisional round clash with the Commanders as trainers evaluated starter Jared Goff for a concussion. He completed his one pass attempt and handed off the ball to Jameson Williams on a trick play that ended in a touchdown before Goff returned to action.
Now, he’ll join Mayfield and fellow backup Kyle Trask in Tampa Bay, adding another NFC South infinity stone to a gauntlet that already included Carolina and New Orleans.
Teddy Bridgewater stats
Bridgewater played in parts of 10 seasons across his 11-year NFL career – he missed the entire 2016 season with a knee injury.
Here’s how his career shakes out by the numbers:
Completion rate: 1,372-of-2,076 (66.4%)
Passing yards: 15,120
Yards per attempt: 7.3
Touchdowns: 75
Interceptions: 47
Passer rating: 90.5
Starter record: 33-32
Bridgewater also has one Pro Bowl appearance in his career, which came in 2015 – his second season and final year before the knee injury that altered the course of his career.
Buccaneers QB depth chart
Should he sign, Bridgewater would join a few other quarterbacks already on Tampa Bay’s roster for training camp.
Baker Mayfield
Kyle Trask
Michael Pratt (back injury)
Teddy Bridgewater (signing pending)
Connor Bazelak
Barring injury, Mayfield will be the Buccaneers’ starting quarterback for a third straight season in 2025. He earned his first two Pro Bowl nods in each of his first two seasons in Tampa Bay.
Trask has been the Bucs’ backup since the team drafted him in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft. He re-signed with Tampa Bay in March.
Pratt was a seventh-round pick by the Green Bay Packers in last year’s draft and ultimately didn’t make the team out of camp. He signed with the Buccaneers’ practice squad after his release and signed a reserve/future contract to stay in Tampa in January.
Bazelak signed with Tampa Bay as an undrafted free agent earlier this year. He played the final two years of his six-year collegiate career with Bowling Green after transferring from Missouri after the 2021 season and from Indiana after 2022.