Teddy Bridgewater will not coach high school football this coming season. Instead, the veteran quarterback is signing a contract to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Tampa general manager Jason Licht said the veteran Bridgewater is being brought in to help Baker Mayfield.
The 32-year-old Bridgewater led the Miami Northwestern Bulls to the Florida Class 3A state championship last season and then unretired to join the Detroit Lions. He served as Jared Goff’s backup and did not appear in a regular-season game.
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Last month, Bridgewater was suspended from Miami Northwestern after providing impermissible benefits to his players.
The suspension stemmed from a post Bridgewater put on Facebook on July 7 where he revealed he covered Uber rides, meals and recovery services for his players last season. He asked fans to donate and cover those expenses this year so they wouldn’t have to come directly from his pocket.
That drew the attention of the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA). An official with the FHSAA, Kelvin Richardson, told Rivals those allegations were sent to Miami Northwestern and that the FHSAA is working to gain more information.
Despite the ban, Bridgewater said he was not going anywhere and would “volunteer from the bleachers” like he’d done in the past.
There are a number of connections in the Bucs organization with Bridgewater. Tampa’s defensive line coordinator, Charlie Strong, was his head coach at Louisville. He was also high school teammates with linebacker Lavonte David and worked with Josh Grizzard, the team’s offensive coordinator, while he was with the Miami Dolphins.
Bridgewater played nine NFL seasons with six teams before retiring after 2023 season, which he spent with the Lions. He threw for 15,120 yards and 75 touchdowns in 79 career games after being a first-round pick out of Louisville in 2014.
