Teddy Bridgewater explains decision to retire on eve of 2026 NFL season
Teddy Bridgewater retired from the NFL on eve of the 2026 season. The 33-year-old backup QB explained his decision in a post to social media.
Veteran NFL quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, 33, has announced his retirement on the eve of the 2026 season, citing the inability of his left knee to recover sufficiently for him to continue playing. Bridgewater, who suffered a severe knee injury during a practice with the Minnesota Vikings in 2016, explained in an Instagram post that experts had predicted he would never play football again after that incident.
Despite the team's success and his own achievements, Bridgewater now feels he must listen to his body and be available for his growing children. The quarterback, who briefly retired after the 2023 season and had a coaching stint in high school football, has expressed no intention to return to the NFL. Bridgewater, drafted in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft and a standout player at Louisville, led the Vikings to an 11-5 record and a playoff berth in 2015.
However, his knee issues, including a torn ACL, forced him to miss the entire 2016 season. He returned in 2017 but never started again for Minnesota. Bridgewater played for seven different teams, posting a 33-32 career record across 65 starts, and completed 66.3% of his passes for 15,182 yards, 75 touchdowns, and 74 interceptions.
Despite his success, Bridgewater has no regrets about his 12-year NFL career, stating that the game was the greatest experience to him.
Written by urgent.news from Yahoo Sports's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
Also reported by 1 other outlet
- Teddy Bridgewater Doubles Down on Decision to Retire newsweek.com
