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Former New York Jets quarterback Teddy Bridgewater reacting in the middle of an NFL game against the Atlanta Falcons.
The end of a football journey.
Former New York Jets quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is retiring from the NFL.
Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell said Bridgewater is going to “step away” and “he is going to be missed.”
ESPN and NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport revealed that Bridgewater “informed the team that he plans to step away from the team, with retirement likely. At age 33, Bridgewater was set to be Detroit’s backup. Now, they’ll work out a few QBs.”
This is the second time that Bridgewater has retired from the NFL. Campbell told the local Lions media that “he believes this time his retirement is likely to stick.”
Bridgewater signed a one-year, $1.8 million contract this offseason that included $1.58 million in guaranteed money.
Incredible Football Path That Featured a Stint With the Jets
The former Louisville product was the No. 32 overall pick in the first round of the 2014 NFL draft.
He spent the first four years of his career with the Minnesota Vikings. During his tenure with the Purple People Eaters, Bridgewater suffered a devastating leg injury in 2016. The non-contact injury during practice resulted in a torn ACL, a knee dislocation, and other structural damage.
The injury was so severe that it threatened his football career. However, after getting some time to heal, he got a chance to make a comeback with the Jets in 2018. He signed a one-year deal with a maximum value of $15 million that included incentives.
After spending five-plus months with the Jets during that offseason, Bridgewater proved that he was healthy enough to continue his career.
The Jets traded Bridgewater and a 2019 sixth-round pick to the New Orleans Saints for a 2019 third-round pick in August of 2018.
The Jets Saved His Career
While it may seem like a five-month tenure with the Jets was relatively insignificant to Bridgewater’s overall career, you’d be wrong.
“Honestly every game is the same because I respect the game and all of my opponents. I spent OTAs and a training camp with the Jets. I look at it like they helped save my career. You know when I signed with the Jets it was really like on a try-out basis almost. Todd Bowles and the trainer helped me get back to my old self health-wise. Bowles’ charisma and energy helped me get that confidence back in myself. Then when they traded me it was like hey everything happens for a reason. I understand the nature of the business so I don’t take anything personal,” Bridgewater said in October of 2022.
Bridgewater’s departure from the Jets was always going to happen; it wasn’t a matter of if but rather when. Bridgewater’s destiny was sealed when the Jets selected Sam Darnold with the No. 3 overall pick in the first round of the 2018 NFL draft, a month after he was signed as a free agent.
Bridgewater knew that Darnold was the future, and his true football comeback was going to have to take place somewhere else. So when the Jets traded him, it was a win-win scenario.
Bridgewater would have left as a free agent during the 2019 offseason for nothing. So instead, the Jets acquired a valuable asset for a player that wasn’t long for the team anyway.
Paul Esden Jr. covers the New York Jets for Heavy.com. A New York native, he co-hosts a morning show, “The Manchild Show with Boy Green Digital.” Before joining Heavy in 2021, Esden Jr. covered both national and New York sports for FanSided, Elite Sports NY, and The Score 1260. More about Paul Esden Jr.
