TAMPA BAY, FL. (CBS12) — Miami native and former Miami Dolphins quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is continuing to live the NFL dream.
The former Pro Bowl quarterback — who originally attended Miami Northwestern in high school — is currently in his first season with a fellow Florida team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The 32-year-old veteran is backing up Pro Bowl quarterback Baker Mayfield for the first time as Tampa Bay enters their Week 4 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles in a matchup of unbeatens.
The Buccaneers are one of those teams that have been at the cusp of entering the elite tier in recent years. They lost each of their playoff games over the past two seasons against the Washington Commanders and the Lions by one possession. However, they defeated both the Commanders and Lions in the regular season last year. Furthermore, they’ve defeated the Eagles in each of the past two seasons, including in the playoffs at the conclusion of the 2023 season.
Beating the Eagles this week would make observers start taking notice of the Buccaneers as an elite team.
While Bridgewater is accustomed to being a starting quarterback — he has 65 starts under his belt — he’s embracing his current role as a backup to Mayfield, singling out Tampa Bay’s tremendous culture as a big reason for their success. The Buccaneers have clinched five straight playoff appearances — along with winning a Super Bowl — which is the longest current streak in the NFC. They have the third-longest playoff streak in the NFL behind only the Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills.
Bridgewater pays major credit to general manager Jason Licht and head coach Todd Bowles, along with the humble veterans such as Lavonte David, Mike Evans and Baker Mayfield.
“What makes this culture so special, it’s really the leadership starts at the top with Jason and Todd, and then if you look at that locker room, it’s a special locker room,” says Bridgewater. “It’s a group of men who established themselves in this league as superstars, a group of men who have who have success in this league, but they don’t carry themselves as their superstars.”
Bridgewater spent the 2022 season as a backup to Tua Tagovailoa with his hometown Dolphins. The former first-round draft pick actually started two games for Tagovailoa that season, throwing four touchdowns against four interceptions.
He explains why he signed with Tampa Bay after coming out of retirement late last season to back up Jared Goff with the Lions. Bridgewater had spent his brief foray in retirement leading Miami Northwestern as their head coach to a state title. However, he was suspended for the 2025 season after giving impermissible benefits to his students, which included paying for their Uber rides.
“There are a number of things that led to me signing with Tampa Bay,” says Bridgewater. “For one, with everything that happened with the high school situation. Thad Lewis, the quarterbacks coach with Tampa Bay, he’s a South Florida guy. We’re from the same neighborhood, Opa Locka, Florida. We kept in touch, just checking on each other. Then when everything happened with the high school situation, Todd was basically like, ‘We’re not going to let them do our guy like that.’ They extended that opportunity. They said, ‘Are you interested in playing?’ I was like, ‘Hell yeah, let’s do it. ‘ We made it happen and I’m happy to be here.”
When asked how much longer he plans to play, Bridgewater says he’ll play as long as he can.
“I’m riding this thing out as long as I can now,” says Bridgewater. “I got a taste of the high school coaching, but it’s a little less stressful on this side. I will probably just stay in the league as long as I can.”
