Ex-Dolphins QB on HS coaching suspension: ‘Players became my sons’

Former Miami Dolphins signal-caller Teddy Bridgewater was suspended from his role as a football coach at the high school level with Miami Northwestern back in July. He reportedly provided his players with impermissible benefits.

He is said to have spent his own money on services for the team like Uber rides, pregame meals and athletic-recovery services. Following his suspension, Bridgewater stepped down from the position and signed a one-year deal to continue his playing career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Bridgewater recently reflected on his suspension from Miami Northwestern and opened up about just how close he was with the players on his team.

“I think everyone knows that I’m just a charitable guy and I’m a father first before anything,” Bridgewater said. “When I decided to coach, those players became my sons. And I just wanted to protect them in the best way I can. Miami Northwestern is in a tough neighborhood and sometimes things can happen when kids are walking home and things like that so I wanted to protect them so they could take a ride home instead of going on those dangerous walks.”

He also made it clear that he wants folks to see him for who he is: a “humble guy with a big heart.”

“I can’t change who I am,” Bridgewater said. “I know what it’s like to walk those halls at Miami Northwestern and to have your stomach growling and rumbling at 12:00 in the afternoon because you didn’t have any lunch money or you don’t get the free lunch.

“I just want people to continue to see me for the person I’ve been from the moment I arrived in the NFL, from the moment I arrived at the University of Louisville. I’m a humble guy with a big heart.”

Bridgewater’s last NFL action came with the Detroit Lions. One has to go all the way back to the 2022 campaign to find the last time he started a game in the league. In fact, his most recent NFL start came during his short time with the Dolphins.

He was a member of the team in the 2022 campaign and totaled 683 passing yards and four passing touchdowns across five games played and a pair of starts with the team.

He has his work cut out for himself if he wants a solidified role in the NFL once again, as he might need to shake off some rust with all the time that’s passed since he last got significant playing time at this level.

Tampa Bay also employs a solid starting quarterback in Baker Mayfield, so it seems unlikely Bridgewater will play much, if at all, in the coming season barring poor injury luck with Mayfield.

Even if Bridgewater will probably spend an overwhelming majority of the coming NFL season on the bench, it’s great to see that he’s continuing his pro career after the controversy he was involved in this summer. He certainly has a lot of supporters who feel that he was just trying to go the extra mile for the kids.