Teddy Bridgewater is off to a new team -- and another backup role.
Bridgewater is signing a one-year deal worth up to $10 million with the Miami Dolphins, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Monday. Bridgewater is getting $6.5 million fully guaranteed.
Miami is the sixth team to employ Bridgewater (including Bridgewater's 2018 preseason stint with the Jets, which ended with a trade to New Orleans) in his NFL career, which began when Vikings selected him with the 32nd overall pick of the 2014 draft and has included a remarkable return from a gruesome knee injury suffered in 2016. His most recent stop in Denver saw Bridgewater win a preseason quarterback competition with Drew Lock and perform well in spurts -- he posted five games of 250-plus passing yards with the Broncos -- while also missing three games due to injury.
Once the dust settled, Denver decided it needed to upgrade at quarterback, agreeing to a blockbuster deal to bring Russell Wilson to the Mile High City. Bridgewater, meanwhile, left for Miami, where he'll play understudy to Tua Tagovailoa in the Alabama product's third professional season.
Tagovailoa enters 2022 with raised expectations while playing his first season under new head coach Mike McDaniel. Tagovailoa has experienced plenty of ups and downs in his first two seasons and struggled to stay healthy in 2021, leading to Miami turning to veteran backup Jacoby Brissett for a portion of the season.
With this experience still fresh in their minds, the Dolphins are signing Bridgewater with the goal of improving their insurance behind Tagovailoa. Bridgewater showed in Denver that he can occasionally be an effective quarterback and should be a better option in the event Tagovailoa is again knocked out of action.
For Bridgewater, his hometown of Miami offers another opportunity to play the position in the NFL. He's fought through more challenges than most any other active quarterback in the NFL and is still just 29 years old. Miami isn't planning on getting a significant look at Bridgewater, but it doesn't hurt to have him available behind Tagovailoa in case of emergency.
