NFL
Teddy Bridgewater Poised for Free-Agent Interest — Could Baltimore Be Next?
Former NFL quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who has come out of retirement and is in no rush to sign a free-agent contract, is highly sought after as a mentor and role model for young quarterbacks. Rumors suggest he may be a fit with the Ravens due to his familiarity with offensive coordinator Declan Doyle's system and his relationship with star QB Lamar Jackson. Bridgewater's experience and versatility make him a valuable asset for any team looking to bolster their quarterback room.
Denver Broncos v Detroit Lions by Ryan Kang | Getty Images
Well-respected longtime NFL quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who has been lured out of retirement by teams in-season in recent years, is not in any hurry to land with a free-agent contract but league sources anticipate demand will form later this offseason.
Bridgewater is a consummate professional and the ideal role model and mentor to a young quarterback; teams that draft one in the first two days of the draft with designs of him becoming a starter may well check in with the veteran.
Given all of the hype around former first-round pick quarterbacks who are being released (Kyler Murray and Tua Tagovailoa), or those making a production out of trying to come out of retirement (Derek Carr), there hasn’t been much chatter about Bridgewater.
But he is held in very high regard by executives and coaches alike and has performed in various schemes and situations and has the ability to come in late in the summer or even during the season and immediately fit into a locker room and quarterback room.
“Teddy is just relaxing for now, and he normally takes his time,” said a source close to the quarterback.
“But I’m sure he will have opportunities.”
Still In-Demand Despite Retiring
Bridgewater left the NFL to become a successful high school coach in his native South Florida in 2024 but returned that season to the Lions, where he also spent 2023, and last year he was a back-up in Tampa. Bridgewater has played for eight teams since being selected in the first round in 2014, and some in NFL circles have wondered if he might end up being a fit in Baltimore, with rookie offensive coordinator Declan Doyle, just 29 years old, and in need of some offensive personnel already familiar with his offense.
Doyle was hired because of his ties to Bears coach/offensive play caller Ben Johnson.
Bridgewater mastered Johnson’s system during his two years with him in Detroit and Bridgewater is held in very high regard by Ravens All Pro quarterback Lamar Jackson. Bridgewater is a legend in South Florida, where Jackson is from, and both players starred collegiately at Louisville (both were also the 32nd overall of a draft).
With the Ravens in dire need of redoing Jackson’s contract, and Jackson already skipping most of Baltimore’s Offseason Team Activity practices last season, having a quarterback who understands this new scheme is even more imperative; Bridgewater would also check that box.
The Ravens signing of Cooper Rush as a back-up last season was an unmitigated disaster, with him looking overwhelmed in the preseason and regular season, and Rush quickly losing him job to Tyler Huntley. This would be a new system for Huntley as well, however. Doyle has never called a play in the NFL or installed an offense as a coordinator, and many of the backups he has worked with recently in Chicago or Denver are not imminently available.
La Canfora has covered over 20 Super Bowls and League Meetings and NFL drafts, building a wide network of sources throughout all aspects of the game. He was an award winning print journalist as well, working at The Detroit Free Press and The Baltimore Sun prior to his first stint at The Washington Post. He has covered sporting events around the world, including two Winter Olympics and all of the 2006 World Cup. He attended his first NFL game in 1978, and would soon kindle what has become a lifelong love and appreciation of the sport. La Canfora is also a professional handicapper, specializing in the NFL, creating a daily sports wagering game show - "Wanna Bet?" He also hosts nationally broadcast NFL radio shows in the US, as well as a daily sports radio show in his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland.