Teddy Bridgewater is making headlines again, this time after coaching his high school football team in Florida to a state championship, while also expressing his desire to make an NFL comeback. On the latest episode of The Pivot Podcast, Bridgewater shared startling new details about his horrific knee injury from 2016, which almost ended his career during his time with the Vikings.
Many Vikings fans remember the terrifying injury Bridgewater suffered before the 2016 season, a dislocated knee combined with an ACL tear and additional structural damage. However, Bridgewater revealed on the podcast that he may have already torn his ACL earlier, before the catastrophic injury.
“Before that week, we played the Chargers in the new stadium, my first game there. I had a big third-down run, juked a defender, and I think that’s when I tore my ACL,” Bridgewater explained. “As the week went on, I thought it was just camp legs and told myself I’d be fine. But the morning of practice, something didn’t feel right behind my knee, it just felt off. I thought, ‘It’s the last day of practice, I’ll push through and get ready for the regular season.'”
Despite the severity of the knee injury that left him hospitalized, Bridgewater made a remarkable return to the field in 2017, eventually working his way back to starting quarterback roles with the Saints, Broncos, and Panthers. Now 32 years old, he last played as a backup with the Lions in 2023.
Bridgewater expressed a strong interest in returning to the NFL, stating that while his football journey has already been remarkable, he isn’t ready to call it quits yet—whether that means continuing to play or moving into coaching.