Teddy Bridgewater Retires: 'This Time It's Official'
The quarterback announced his retirement on the 10-year anniversary of the catastrophic knee injury that once threatened to end his career, closing out a 10-season NFL run.
Teddy Bridgewater announced his retirement from the NFL in an Instagram post Monday, a day after the Detroit Lions placed him on the reserve/retired list. "This time it's official," he wrote.
Why 'this time'?
Bridgewater first retired after the 2023 season before returning to the Lions late the following year, then backed up Baker Mayfield in Tampa Bay in 2025, and re-signed with Detroit in March 2026 before this second, final retirement at age 33.
What did he reflect on in his post?
Bridgewater's announcement came on the 10-year anniversary of the gruesome knee injury he suffered with the Vikings in 2016. "It's so crazy 10 years ago around this time, I suffered one of the most gruesome knee injuries the game itself, its players and some doctors had ever seen," he wrote. "Everything football related since 2016 had been fueled by the 'experts' predicting that I would never play football again. We really showed them by playing 10 more seasons!"
What does his career look like?
Bridgewater played 10 NFL seasons across stops that included the Vikings, Saints, Panthers, Broncos, Dolphins, Lions and Buccaneers, rebuilding his career step by step after the injury that once appeared career-threatening.
Players in this story
Sources
- ESPN: Teddy Bridgewater on retirement from NFL: 'This time it's official'