Teddy Bridgewater nearly signed with Buccaneers before Tom Brady landed in Tampa, GM Jason Licht says

Veteran quarterback Teddy Bridgewater signed a one-year deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, joining a franchise with long-standing interest in him, according to general manager Jason Licht. A former first-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings in 2014, the 32-year-old Bridgewater briefly retired in February 2024 before a late-season stint with the Detroit Lions. 

Bridgewater recently received a suspension as a volunteer football coach at Miami (Fla.) Northwestern High for giving impermissible benefits to players during the 2024 season. With no prep coaching duties to worry about, Bridgewater becomes a depth chart plug-in for the Buccaneers behind Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask.

"We had him in here in 2014 before the draft. There might've been a situation where we would've taken him if he had fell a little further," Licht said of Bridgewater. "And a few years ago, he was what was behind door No. 2. So we talked about that today on the sideline. We ended up with Tom Brady, but now we have Teddy on the roster. You can have everything, just not all at once."

Bridgewater's previous NFL career took a turn after a major knee injury in 2016, but he battled back to start for the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos. He later had stints with the New York Jets, New Orleans Saints, Miami Dolphins and Detroit. 

"He's a pro pro and (coach) Todd (Bowles) has a good relationship with him," Licht said.

Brady signed with the Buccaneers in 2020 after an illustrious career with the New England Patriots following six Super Bowl titles. He would win another crown in Tampa before retiring in February 2022, and later returning to the franchise for one more season. Trask was a 2021 draft pick for the Buccaneers, who have been patient with his development out of the University of Florida.

When the Buccaneers learned Bridgewater wasn't return to the high school coaching ranks in 2025, Tampa Bay's braintrust starting putting everything in motion.

"Maybe even over the summer, we talked about it, that it would be a nice addition to the room," Licht said. "Good for Baker, experienced guy, obviously very smart — hell of a high school coach, hell of a coach in general. But just a good addition, just to have that wealth of experience there."