يفتح تيدي بريدجووتر حول التدريب على التعليق ، “متحمس” لفرصة Bucs

TAMPA, Fla. — Teddy Bridgewater has been here before.

In the pre-draft process in 2014, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers brought him in for an official visit, and he still remembers the restaurant they took him to and how he liked the idea of getting back to his home state after playing in college at Louisville. Alas, the Bucs picked at No. 38 and the Minnesota Vikings traded up to No. 32 to grab him, so it never happened.

Then in 2020, when Bridgewater was a free agent, the prospect of him signing with the Bucs was close enough. “We thought it was a lock,” he remembers, but then Tom Brady entered the picture, signed and led Tampa Bay to a Super Bowl championship.

On Wednesday morning, the 32-year-old Bridgewater looked back on his first practice as a Bucs quarterback, smiling as he talked about how long it had been coming.

“We’ve been flirting for years,” he said. “I’m finally here. So I’m excited, man.”

Bridgewater’s NFL career has come full circle as he enters his 12th season. He had a promising first two years with the Vikings, making the Pro Bowl and making the playoffs in his second year, only to have a torn ACL basically take away the next two years. He’s bounced from the New York Jets to the New Orleans Saints to the Carolina Panthers to the Denver Broncos to the Miami Dolphins to the Detroit Lions. 

While Bridgewater hasn’t started a game since 2022, he recently made headlines at his most recent stop. He dabbled in coaching at his high school alma mater, Miami’s Northwestern High, but his tenure there came to a pause in July when he was suspended for allegedly giving impermissible benefits to his players.

Bridgewater stood by his actions on Wednesday, saying he provided Uber rides home and meals to players because he was once in their shoes, at the same school in the same bad neighborhood, and wanted to protect them.

“Everyone knows that I’m just a cheerful guy, a cheerful giver as well. I’m a protector. I’m a father first before anything,” Bridgewater said. “When I decided to coach, those players became my sons and I wanted to make sure I just protect them in the best way I can. Miami Northwestern is in a tough neighborhood, and sometimes things can happen when kids are walking home. 

“I just tried to protect them, give them a ride home instead of them having to take those dangerous walks,” Bridgewater added. “I just want people to continue to see me for the person I’ve been from the time I arrived in the NFL, from the time I arrived at the University of Louisville, just a humble guy who has a big heart and a cheerful giver.”

Bridgewater, who will wear No. 16 for the Bucs, wants to keep close tabs on his players at Miami Northwestern, knowing the time commitment of being an NFL player will keep him away, but he’ll try to get back when the schedule allows him, thanking them for inspiring him as a player and coach.

“It’s a great group of kids. They see so much hope when they look at me,” he said. “I’ve always said it’s food for my soul.”

As Bridgewater is looking to continue to serve as a leader for the high school kids he coaches, that leadership is just part of the reason why the Buccaneers recently brought him in. 

“He brings us a wealth of experience,” coach Todd Bowles said on Wednesday. “We think we need some experience in that room. The more experience, the better. He can’t do anything but help.”

The quarterback has personal connections all over his new team. When he was a freshman in high school, Bucs linebacker Lavonte David was a senior, so the two have been friends for half their lives. Bucs offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard was a Dolphins assistant when Bridgewater played in Miami in 2022, and as he settled into his hotel room Tuesday night, a knock on the door yielded another familiar face: Bucs defensive line coach Charlie Strong, who was his head coach at Louisville.

“Coach Strong was doing room checks last night in the hotel and he knocked on the door. I’m like ‘Man, what the hell?'” Bridgewater said. “I said, ‘Man, this feels like the University of Louisville all over again.’ I thought I was an 18-year-old freshman again. We laughed and were like, ‘We just rewound the clock.’ It feels great, though.”

The Bucs have an entrenched starting quarterback in Baker Mayfield, coming off a 41-touchdown season, so Bridgewater’s challenge will be trying to unseat fifth-year pro Kyle Trask as the top backup. Stuck behind Brady and Mayfield as two quarterbacks who never come off the field, Trask attempted only 11 passes in four years, so Bridgewater’s game experience could be a plus. The third quarterback, Michael Pratt, has yet to practice this year due to a lower-back injury.

Bridgewater’s recent coaching experience could also give him an edge in the backup quarterback battle. As it turns out, coaching has made him a better quarterback, Bridgewater admitted. He’d never had to think about all 11 players on both sides of the ball, so he’s more detailed in his preparation now. He understands what the offensive line is doing, blocking in front of him, and how the defensive front is trying to attack him. So he joins the Bucs as a player, but can help the team like another coach, reaching out even to young players at other positions.

“Honestly, I’m just here right now to try to help this team in every way possible, whether it’s in the quarterback room, the wide receiver room,” Bridgewater said. “There’s some young talent in that room and I’m excited to just share some of the wisdom I have, the experience I have from being in different offenses, different teams with guys who have had success at the receiver position. I’m just going to do whatever the role is for me, to try to be a humble servant like I’ve been doing.”

Whether Bridgewater sticks on the 53-man roster or on the practice squad or not at all, the Bucs are excited about how he can help their team, if not directly on the field, then indirectly in making those around him better.

“Experienced guy, obviously very smart,” Bucs general manager Jason Licht said. “Hell of a high school coach, hell of a coach in general. Just a good addition to have that wealth of experience there.”

Greg Auman is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He previously spent a decade covering the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.

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