Teddy Bridgewater signs with Tampa Bay after stepping down from HS coaching job
Not long after officially resigning from his job coaching his high school alma mater, Miami Northwestern, former Miami Dolphins quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is back in the NFL.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Bridgewater signed a one-year deal with the Tampa Bay Bucs on Tuesday.
Bridgewater, 32, officially stepped down earlier this week from his position as coach of the Bulls in the wake of a controversial suspension laid down by the school for violating Florida High School Athletic Association rules regarding “impermissible benefits” for his players.
Bridgewater was suspended in early July, and a source with knowledge of the situation told the Miami Herald it was set to be for the duration of the upcoming high school football season.
Bridgewater had previously posted on his Facebook page, asking fans to help him recover at least some of the money he has spent on his players, including $700 per week for Uber rides, and reportedly also spent $2,200 for pregame meals and over $1,300 for athletic-recovery services.
The sanction sparked outrage from the local community in Liberty City all the way to the Florida state capitol as many petitioned for Bridgewater’s reinstatement.
But the former star quarterback for the Bulls, who returned to his alma mater’s sidelines last season, appears ready to put on the pads himself once again at the pro level.
Bridgewater already made a brief return to the league last January after taking a hiatus from his coaching duties at Northwestern to back up Jared Goff in Detroit. He appeared and threw one pass in the Lions’ NFC Divisional loss to the Washington Commanders.
Bridgewater joins the Bucs, and is expected to back up starter Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask, adding depth to the position with quarterback Michael Pratt injured. If Bridgewater makes the 53-man roster, he’d have a chance to suit up in a regular season game for his seventh NFL team. Bridgewater, a first-round pick of the Vikings in 2014 who backed up Tua Tagovailoa in Miami in 2022, has also played for the Saints, Panthers and Broncos.
Bridgewater led his alma mater to its first state title since 2019 and their ninth overall in his only season as coach last year. Northwestern had gone 4-6 the previous season and missed the playoffs for the first time in over a decade.
Northwestern, which is now coached by former assistant Jaquatin Victrum, heads into this season still expected to be among the best in not only South Florida, but nationally as well, led by star talent such as Syracuse commit Calvin Russell and four-star receiver Nick Lennear.
The Bulls are set to open their season on Aug. 23 at Traz Powell Stadium against California power Orange Lutheran.
This story was originally published August 5, 2025 at 8:44 AM.
