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Teddy Bridgewater returning to NFL after leading alma mater to state title

hunterby:Hunter Shelton12/26/24

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High school football head coach Teddy Bridgewater
© Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

It took Teddy Bridgewater just one season to lead his alma mater, Miami Northwestern High School, to a state championship. Now, the lauded quarterback is returning to the NFL just one year after retiring.

The NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported on Thursday that Bridgewater is indeed coming out of retirement and is expected to return to Detroit and sign with the Lions:

Earlier this month, Bridgewater told Rapoport and Tom Pelissero on The Insiders that he was eyeing a return to the league, though he also does intend to continue coaching.

“That’s the plan,” Bridgewater said. “My team knows that’s the plan. We wanted to win a state championship and then coach goes back to the league, see what happens, and then come back February in the offseason, continue coaching high school football. We’ll see how it plays out.”

On Dec. 14, Bridgewater’s Miami Northwestern squad rolled Jacksonville Raines High 41-0 to claim the Florida Class 3A state title. The Bulls finished the season with a 13-2 record and rank as the No. 6 team in the Sunshine State, according to the On3 Composite Rankings.

Prior to bringing in Bridgewater, Northwestern had gone through two head coaches in two seasons. Now, the return of Bridgewater has seen a remarkable turnaround for the Bulls, who didn’t allow a point in their final three games of the 2024 campaign.

“He’s means a lot,” Northwestern star wide receiver Calvin Russell said of Bridgewater to the Palm Beach Post. “He changed the way we think about everything. The way we do things, how we go about things. He changed a whole lot.”

Now, Bridgewater is set to return to the Motor City and play for the Lions — where he last played before retiring in 2023. Since getting drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in 2014, the former Louisville standout also spent time with the New York Jets, New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos and Miami Dolphins.