Former Vikings QB Will Retire Following the 2023 Season
Josh Frey
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On Saturday morning, some big news broke as the Minnesota Vikings were getting ready to take on the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 15.
Former Vikings QB Teddy Bridgewater has announced that he will retire following the end of the 2023 season. After stints in Minnesota, New Orleans, Carolina, Denver, Miami, and now Detroit, the journeyman will hang up his cleats and transition to coaching next fall.
Former Vikings QB Will Retire Following the 2023 Season
Adam Schefter of ESPN tweeted on Saturday morning, “Lions’ QB Teddy Bridgewater told the Detroit Free Press that he plans to retire after the 2023 season.”
In the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft, Rick Spielman and the Minnesota Vikings decided that with the 32nd overall pick, they would make a move to bring a young QB into their roster. That QB was, of course, Bridgewater.
Bridgewater took over the starting spot during his rookie season, and he quickly looked like a stud at the position. Then, in 2015, alongside the strength of Mike Zimmer’s defense, Minnesota won the NFC North with Bridgewater running the offense. The 11-5 Vikings lost in the Wild Card round to the Seattle Seahawks due to the infamous Blair Walsh kick.
Then, the summer of 2016 happened. Bridgewater suffered a horrific knee injury right before the start of the regular season, costing him his entire season. Spielman then traded a first-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles in order to acquire Sam Bradford, and Bridgewater would never start a game in a Vikings uniform ever again.
Despite going through such a career-altering injury in 2016, Bridgewater managed to carve a role for himself as one of the better backup QBs in the league later on in his career. During 2018 and 2019, Bridgewater played for the New Orleans Saints behind Drew Brees. When Brees got injured in 2019, the former Vikings QB stepped in and went 5-0 as a starter.
He spent the 2020 and 2021 seasons back in a starting role, playing for the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos. Then, in 2022, he played for the Miami Dolphins, appearing in five games and making two starts. He completed 62% of his passes for 683 yards, 4 TDs, and 4 INTs for Miami during the 2022 season.
Bridgewater then headed to Detroit for the 2023 season where he presumably will finish his career as the Lions’ backup QB to Jared Goff. He is yet to throw a pass this year.
The 2014 first-round pick has amassed 15,120 yards, 75 TDs, and 47 INTs over the course of his 79-game NFL career, which has included 65 starts. If this is indeed the end, it has been a very successful decade in the NFL for Bridgewater. Kudos to the former Vikings QB on a strong career and best of luck in the next chapter.
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Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.