BREAKING: Former Saints Quarterback To Retire

A former Saints quarterback will reportedly call it a career at the conclusion of this season.

Former New Orleans Saints QB Teddy Bridgewater will reportedly conclude his NFL career at the end of this season. Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press is reporting that Bridgewater told him of his plans to retire at the end of the 2023-24 season. 

Bridgewater, 31, is currently the backup quarterback for the Detroit Lions. Birkett reports that Bridgewater informed him that he plans to coach high school football upon his retirement. The Lions are the seventh team he's suited up for over his 10-year NFL career. 

After a standout collegiate career at Louisville, the Minnesota Vikings selected Bridgewater with the 32nd choice in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft. As a rookie, he started the final 11 games of Minnesota's 2014 season and completed 64.4% of his throws for 2,919 yards with 14 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. 

Inserted as the Vikings starter in 2015, Bridgewater helped guide Minnesota to an 11-5 record and an NFC North title. In the process, he completed 65.3% of his passes for 3,231 yards with 17 total touchdowns and 9 interceptions. 

Oct 30, 2023; Detroit Lions quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (10) throws a pass during warmups before a game against the Raiders. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports

During training camp in 2016, Bridgewater suffered a catastrophic knee injury. It not only forced him out of football for almost two years, but nearly cost him his leg. Against all odds, he returned as a backup quarterback for the Vikings at the end of the 2017 campaign. That subsequent offseason, he'd sign with the New York Jets to compete for their starting quarterback job. 

Despite a strong preseason by Bridgewater in 2018, the Jets elected to turn their starting quarterback job over to rookie Sam Darnold. As a result, the New Orleans Saints were able to obtain Bridgewater in a trade just prior to the start of the regular season. 

Backing up legendary QB Drew Brees for New Orleans, Bridgewater was only able to start a meaningless regular season finale in 2018. The following year, Brees suffered a thumb injury early in the season. Bridgewater stepped in and helped guide the Saints to a 5-0 record while Brees was sidelined. Over those five contests, Bridgewater completed nearly 68% of his throws for 1,384 yards with 9 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.

Oct 20, 2019; New Orleans Saints quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (5) passes against the Chicago Bears. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

Bridgewater's success as a Saint caused the Carolina Panthers to sign him to a free-agent deal in 2020. While he went only 4-11 as a starter for Carolina, he still had a career-best 69.1% completion percentage with 3,733 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. The Panthers traded him to the Denver Broncos at the end of that season. 

Over the last two years, Bridgewater has started 14 games for the Broncos then two for the Miami Dolphins in 2022 before joining the Lions last offseason. As backup to Jared Goff, he has not thrown a pass for Detroit this year. 

Teddy Bridgewater is 33-32 as a starter in his NFL career. He has a career completion percentage of 66.4% while throwing for 15,120 yards with 86 total touchdowns and 47 interceptions. Bridgewater was also widely recognized as an outstanding teammate at each of his stops.

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