Most NFL players love playing football, but Teddy Bridgewater isn’t exactly thrilled to be in Tampa Bay Buccaneers training camp right now.
Bridgewater opened up about his suspension from high-school football coaching and explained why the 32-year-old deems backing up Baker Mayfield “very upsetting.”
The Bucs are Bridgewater’s seventh NFL team over his 11-season NFL career that has spanned 12 years. But Bridgewater is back in the NFL after he was suspended last month for providing improper financial benefits to his players at Miami Northwestern High School as a coach there.
So Bridgewater would rather be coaching instead of playing.
What Did Teddy Bridgewater Say About Playing For The Buccaneers?
Bridgewater’s goal has been to coach Miami Northwestern during the high-school year then see if he could latch on with an NFL team in November or December as a backup or for the playoffs.
That worked last year, when Bridgewater joined the Detroit Lions after helping the school win a Florida state championship in 2024 — he even threw a pass in Detroit’s lone playoff game against the Washington Commanders.
But even though Bridgewater is signed to a one-year contract where he will make millions of dollars, he would rather be back volunteer coaching Northwestern.
âYeah, I can make a ton of money playing football and coaching high school ball, I get nothing,â Bridgewater said, according to the Associated Press. âBut itâs not even about the money. Itâs about giving those kids a building block to go out into the real world and be productive.”
Bridgewater was trying to use his more than $65 million in career NFL earnings to give back to the high school where he starred from 2007-10 and raise up some of the financially struggling student-athletes there.
But he is still bitter about his ban from the sidelines.
“Itâs very upsetting,” Bridgewater said. “Just knowing that you have good intentions and those good intentions will be turned against you and used against you.”
What Can Teddy Bridgewater Bring To The Buccaneers?
Bridgewater is one of four quarterbacks on the Buccaneers roster, and he is no lock to even make the team since he just signed Aug. 5.
He is likely to play in Tampa Bay’s second preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday night. But with Baker Mayfield the clear starter and 2021 second-round pick Kyle Trask waiting in the wings, there may not be a role — and Bridgewater may not even want to take up a roster spot.
Still, Bucs coach Todd Bowles spelled out what a veteran like Bridgewater — who has played 79 NFL games and has a 75/47 touchdown-to-interception rate.
“He can help Baker out,” Bowles said of Bridgewater. “Coaching helps (Baker) out, but thereâs nothing like seeing it from a playerâs standpoint, and [Bridgewater] can give that to Baker.”
Still, it remains to be seen whether Bridgewater’s heart is into being a backup quarterback, since he would clearly rather be coaching.
“Iâm hoping to get it resolved because those kids have a special place in my heart,” Bridgewater said. “Iâd love to finish what I started with them.”
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