Former Miami Dolphins quarterback Teddy Bridgewater — who is currently a member of the Detroit Lions — plans to retire from the NFL following the 2023 season.
“Bridgewater said he plans to retire after the season so he can be a father to his two boys and continue to make an impact in his community back home that he said ‘is food for my soul,'” wrote Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.
“He plans to coach high school football next season — the head coaching job at his alma matter, Miami Northwestern, is open — and he has no interest (for now) coaching in college or the NFL (‘I don’t like the hours’). Instead, he’ll be a regular at his favorite breakfast spot, MLK (My Little Kitchen) in Liberty Square.”
The quarterback explained that he doesn’t have any qualms about how his NFL career has played out.
“Everything happens for a reason,” Bridgewater said. “Injuries, highs, lows, the success, the failures. It all, it builds character, and that’s what it did for me. Like I never look like, ‘Oh man, what if?’ Nah. Whatever was meant for me, it played out the exact way it was meant. And I’m still with that mindset every day and I’m just really appreciative that I’m in Year 10, I tell everyone this is my last year, so I’m in my final year and I’m just enjoying it all, man.”
Bridgewater’s stint as a member of the Dolphins franchise was brief. He spent just one season with the team, the 2022 season. Across five appearances and two starts for Miami during the regular season, the veteran accumulated 683 passing yards, four passing touchdowns and 32 first downs passing.
The Dolphins didn’t experience much collective success in the two games that Bridgewater started a season ago, as Miami lost both. Following the end of the 2022 season, he signed a one-year deal with the Lions as a free agent.
The former first-round pick spent more time playing for the Minnesota Vikings — who drafted him with the No. 32 overall pick back in the 2014 NFL Draft — than any other NFL team. For comparison, he logged 30 games for the Vikings during his time with them (plus a playoff game) and 15 games with the Carolina Panthers, the team he played the second-most games for.
Additionally, Bridgewater arguably enjoyed the best season of his career during the 2015 campaign when he was still a member of the Vikings. He threw for 3,231 yards and 14 touchdowns across 16 games played with Minnesota during the 2015 regular season while leading the team to an 11-5 record.
Bridgewater’s play during the 2015 regular season earned him the only Pro Bowl nod of his NFL career to this point. Unfortunately, he and the Vikings went on to lose to the Seattle Seahawks in the playoffs that season by a final score of 10-9.
All in all, the former Dolphins quarterback has enjoyed a productive career in the NFL. He has played for a whopping six teams — the Dolphins, Vikings, Panthers, Lions, New Orleans Saints and Denver Broncos — and has certainly made countless memories along the way.
