The scar runs about 10 inches, to the left of his kneecap from his thigh to his shin. It crosses through a tattoo of intersecting signs that read “Bunche Park” and “Liberty City.”
It’s a reminder of what many would assume was the worst day of Teddy Bridgewater’s life. Bridgewater was 23, emerging as the Minnesota Vikings’ franchise quarterback as the 2016 season approached. He’d led the Vikings to an 11-5 record, an NFC North title and had been chosen for the Pro Bowl the previous season.
Then, during a practice two weeks before the season opener, without contact, his knee dislocated. The surgeon who reconstructed the ACL, repaired five lateral ligaments and transplanted a hamstring tendon on the side of his knee told ESPN it was a “horribly grotesque injury” and compared it to a war wound.
Could he play again? The better question at the time: Could he walk again? The injury was severe enough that amputation was a possibility.
Fifteen months later, however, he took the last five snaps of a blowout victory.
Now, eight-and-a-half years, six NFL teams, 37 starts and two sons later, Bridgewater is approaching the twilight of one career and the dawn of another.
In December 2023, Bridgewater announced he’d retire from the NFL at the end of that season. He returned to the high school he attended, Miami Northwestern, as head football coach. A little more than a month ago, the day after Christmas, he came out of retirement and signed with the Lions.
Bridgewater looks down at the scar. It doesn’t bring flashbacks of pain or trauma. He feels no self-pity, doesn’t dwell on opportunities lost.
“I’m thankful it happened,” he says, with doe eyes and a little boy smile. “It made me take a step back and allowed God to build me the way he wanted to. Being injured taught me patience and gave me understanding.”
Dan Campbell, who was an assistant in New Orleans when Bridgewater played there, had to have him in Detroit. “He doesn’t accept excuses or impossibilities,” Campbell said. “For him, there’s always a better way. You make the most of any opportunity. He’s lived it. He’s been told he’d never play again. He’s been cast aside and told he wasn’t good enough, yet through it all, he’s still standing tall.”
Scars can reveal a lot about people.
The Florida Dairy Farmer’s Coach of the Year held up a black jacket with leather sleeves. On the back of the coat, a yellow patch with blue letters read “STATE CHAMPIONS.”
Miami Northwestern finished 4-6 the year before Bridgewater took over. In 2024, they started 2-2, then won their last 10 games and the 3A state championship.
Bridgewater, meeting with his team in the school auditorium, needed players to determine what sizes they wanted.
“If you are a young guy and you fit into a medium jacket, you might want to get a large,” he said in front of the group. “You are going to grow.”
Their growth. It’s the reason he is here.
