Tony Bridgewater

Theodore Edmond Bridgewater Jr. (born November 10, 1992) is an American former football quarterback who played for 10 seasons in the National Football League (NFL).

Born and raised in Miami, Florida, he graduated from Miami Northwestern high school.

The son of Teddy Bridgewater Sr. and Rose Murphy, Bridgewater was born in Miami, Florida, on November 10, 1992.

He attended Miami Northwestern Senior High School.

The school's football field was later renamed in his honor.

In his sophomore year, he replaced Jacory Harris as starting quarterback and took over a team that had been named the 2007 national champions by USA Today.

He completed 97 of 160 attempts (60.6 percent) for 1,560 yards over the season, throwing 16 touchdowns with three interceptions.

He also carried 45 times for 211 yards (4.7 average) and two more scores.

Northwestern finished the season 13–3, falling short to Seminole High School of Sanford 28–21 in the 6A state title game.

As a junior, Bridgewater passed for 2,546 yards and 32 touchdowns and rushed for 379 yards and five more scores.

In a late-September game against Hialeah-Miami Lakes High School, he completed 19 of 24 passes for 327 yards and a Dade County record of seven touchdowns.

He was named second-team All-State for 6A classification and first-team All-County by the Miami Herald.

Northwestern finished the season 10–2, after a 29–16 loss to rival Miami Central High School.

As a senior, Bridgewater had 2,606 passing yards and 22 touchdowns despite missing parts of the season with a medial collateral ligament injury.

He also rushed for 223 yards and eight more scores.

Northwestern had a 9–3 record for the season, losing 42–27 to Miami Central in the 6-A semifinals, in which he threw for 436 yards and scored four touchdowns.

Regarded as a four-star recruit, Bridgewater was considered the sixth best dual-threat quarterback prospect in the nation by Rivals.com.

Bridgewater originally committed to the University of Miami in June 2010.

But, after the firing of Miami head coach Randy Shannon in November 2010, Bridgewater switched his commitment to the University of Louisville, over additional offers from Kansas State, LSU, Florida, Rutgers, Tennessee, and USF.

He played in the 2011 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

As a freshman at Louisville in 2011, Bridgewater entered the season as a backup to Will Stein.

However, by the Cardinals' fourth game of the season against Marshall, he was starting and remained the starter the rest of the year.

He finished the season completing 191 of 296 passes for 2,129 yards with 14 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

For his play, he was named the Big East Rookie of the Year and was named a freshman All-American by Rivals.com, Scout.com, CBS Sports, and Sporting News.

As a sophomore in 2012, Bridgewater started 11 of 12 regular season games.

In his only non-starting action, coming off the bench while injured against Rutgers, he led his team to a win, a Big East title, and a berth to the BCS.

He finished the regular season completing 267 of 387 passes for 3,452 yards with 25 touchdowns and just 7 interceptions.

He finished 6th in the nation in completion percentage, 8th in yards per attempt, and 7th in passing efficiency.

For his play, he was named the Big East Offensive Player of the Year.

Bridgewater went on to play college football for the Louisville Cardinals, leading the Cardinals to an upset victory over the Florida Gators in the 2013 Sugar Bowl.

Bridgewater and his Cardinals football team entered the 2013 Sugar Bowl against the Florida Gators as decided underdogs.

He was selected in the first round of the 2014 NFL draft by the Minnesota Vikings.

During his second season, he led the Vikings to a NFC North division title and earned Pro Bowl honors.

However, Bridgewater and the Vikings narrowly lost their 2015 Wild Card game to the Seattle Seahawks.

Upon suffering a severe leg injury the following off-season, Bridgewater appeared in only one game over the next two years.

A free agent following the 2017 season, Bridgewater briefly joined the New York Jets during the 2018 season before signing with the New Orleans Saints in 2019.

Serving as the Saints' backup quarterback, he eventually served as the team's starter in relief of Drew Brees.

Following his time with the Saints, he was later the starting quarterback for the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos for a season each.

He signed with the Miami Dolphins in 2022 as a backup before joining the Detroit Lions in 2023.

Bridgewater retired after the 2023 season and became the head coach at his alma mater, Miami Northwestern.