Buccaneers quarterback Teddy Bridgewater turned in a strong performance during his club’s preseason victory over the Steelers on Saturday, completing six of 11 passes for 85 yards and two TDs. However, at this point in the calendar, he would prefer to be on a high school sideline.
As Will Graves of the Associated Press details, Bridgewater had hoped to coach his alma mater, Northwestern High, until the high school football season ended, and then he was going to see if there were any NFL opportunities for him. This is the same route he took last year, when he guided Northwestern to the Florida Class 3A title before joining the Lions in late December as Jared Goff’s backup for the stretch run.
Bridgewater’s plan was thwarted by the suspension he received from the Florida High School Athletic Association. He does not take a salary as Northwestern’s HC, but in a recent social media post soliciting donations to offset team expenses like food and rides home from practice, he acknowledged that he paid for those expenses himself last season. Under the Association’s rules, Bridgewater’s out-of-pocket expenditures may constitute impermissible benefits to players, thus leading to the suspension.
The Association’s investigation is ongoing, and it is unclear when it might reach a resolution. In the meantime, Bridgewater signed with the Bucs and joined Kyle Trask as a candidate for the backup QB role behind Baker Mayfield in Tampa.
“It’s very upsetting,” Bridgewater said after a joint practice with Pittsburgh earlier this week. “Just knowing that you have good intentions and those good intentions will be turned against you and used against you. I’m hoping to get it resolved because those kids have a special place in my heart. And I’d love to finish what I started with them.”
Trask has been a fixture in Tampa since the team selected him in the second round of the 2021 draft. But with Tom Brady and then Mayfield ahead of him on the depth chart, the 27-year-old has attempted a grand total of 11 regular season passes in the NFL. Bridgewater, who has 65 career starts to his name, obviously represents a much more reliable insurance policy in the event of a Mayfield injury.
When asked what he was told about the Bridgewater signing, Trask said, “I never got a direct answer” (video link via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times). The Florida product was not nearly as sharp as Bridgewater on Saturday, completing just three of 10 passes for 19 yards in the Pittsburgh contest.
After the game, head coach Todd Bowles declined to provide a definitive quarterback pecking order. Bowles said Trask, Bridgewater, and UDFA rookie Connor Bazelak would play in the Bucs’ preseason finale next week and that a decision would be made at some point thereafter (via Stroud).
Bridgewater, who will turn 33 in November, suggested he is not necessarily pushing for the QB2 gig.
“I’m just here to help this team in every way possible,” he said after the game (via the Associated Press). “I’ve been a humble servant throughout my career, playing and coaching.”
Per Graves, Bridgewater – who said he received offseason interest after his stint with the Lions – would like to continue the pattern he set in 2024: coach high schoolers in the fall, and then perhaps join an NFL club late in the professional season. As he told the teams that reached out to him earlier this year, “I’m up for it, check back when Northwestern is done.”
Did this man dirty. Smh
No good deed goes unpunished I guess…Bridgewater seems like a super likeable guy too, that situation is so dumb. But its against the rules so it is what it is.
Yeah regrettably. Poor kids man smh
Amari Cooper and Artie Burns also attended that high school so perhaps they could coach the tykes.
High schools are building NFL caliber stadiums.
Colleges are paying kids millions.
Florida is a cesspool of corruption.
All fine and good with everyone.
But, don’t buy food for poor kids. That’s…against the rules.
Chances are Florida > your state
Touchy little septuagenarian and/or fugitive scofflaw there.
Not one bit. I’m not even from there just a comment like yours makes it known your backwards. Probably enjoy men in women’s sports too.
The tacos in the Jacksonville area come highly recommended by arty! 🙂
Florida’s also where your kids can’t read “The Diary of Anne Frank” because it’s been banned by your local school system to please the demagogue DeSantis.
That’s not true. One county did that, and another removed a comic book version. Not that I care about this topic, to be clear, but that’s not what happened exactly. I doubt this conversation chain above leads anywhere productive, though.
Besides getting Jmac killed by throwing that high, he played well.
The whole situation seems stupid. I doubt he was taking them to steakhouses it was probably fast food and a 7 dollar Uber. 5 million in n.i.l. money is fine though in college.
Yeah, I understand the purpose for rule-this seems like something that could as easily abused as it is in college-but one should probably consider the circumstances here. If what Bridgewater said is true, it’s really hard to see how his actions should be discouraged. Perhaps there’s more to it (although, if there were, you’d think that there would have been an official rebuttal), but Bridgewater seems genuinely committed to being a positive influence in his community and that seems like an extremely laudable and necessary thing in society.
@ak185. I’m wondering if he was getting players from bordering schools. If so I can see complaints. Still dont think that’s any different than players getting free schooling to private high schools. Just seems like he’s helping his community where he was raised and putting the time in for free. Like if he donated 20k for equipment and jerseys it would probably be fine. But buying kids pizza isn’t just seems foolish. Plus isn’t that what the nfl promotes the players to do with the Walter Payton award. Just seems very contradicting.
Yeah, contradiction is the name of the game. Wouldn’t be surprised to see this rule be quietly altered soon.
@ak185. Just seems like some fat p.e. coaches couldn’t handle the loss and filed a complaint. Im sure Bridgewater knows how to coach with his time in the nfl, and him bouncing around. Instead of accepting the loss they said he cheated because he bought them McDonald’s. Lol. Wouldn’t surprise me if alot of former nfl players do the same. I know rivers coaches for his high school.