Former NFL quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is now a high school football coach in his home state of Florida after retiring at the end of the 2023 season.
The former first-round pick was drafted in 2014 by the Minnesota Vikings and spent the next four years there before moving on to play for teams such as the New York Jets, New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins, and Detroit Lions.
Bridgewater became a Pro Bowl quarterback in Minnesota, but he recently detailed on FSP Network why his major leg injury that he suffered back in 2016, as well as his concussion history, made him walk away from the game at just 31 years of age.
“I almost had my leg amputated…I don’t want my son’s last image of me being carted off the field on a stretcher,” Bridgewater stated.
NEWS: Former #NFL QB Teddy Bridgewater talks about why he retired at just the age of 31
“I almost had my leg amputated. I don’t want my son’s last image of me being carted off the field on a stretcher.”
🙏
(FSP Network, @vikingzfanpage)
pic.twitter.com/K6w1IXbF1L— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) August 20, 2024
In terms of Bridgewater’s non-contact knee injury that he suffered in August of 2016 while with the Vikings, he tore his ACL, dislocated his knee joint, and had other structural damage.
He would go on to play in just one game over the next two years.
After the knee injury, the former Louisville star played in at least 14 games just twice more.
He started 15 games for the Panthers in 2020 (4-11) and 14 games for the Broncos in 2021 (7-7).
His best career season in the NFL statistically came in that 2020 season with Carolina when he put up career highs in completions (340), passing yards (3,733), completion percentage (69.1%), and total touchdowns (20).
Despite his injury history, fans should be happy to see Bridgewater walk away from the game healthy.
