Bridgewater on Joining Dolphins: It's a Unique Opportunity
New Miami Dolphins quarterback Teddy Bridgewater revisited some high school memories during a Zoom media session with reporters Monday and shared his excitement at being back home in South Florida.
He also expressed his confidence about his ability to help the team and learn a new offense he called quarterback-friendly.
What he didn't want to do, however, was share the conversations he had with Dolphins management and coaches about his role coming to South Florida, which was a bit interesting considering the overwhelming assumption has been all along that he joining Miami to back up Tua Tagovailoa.
Bridgewater initially was asked about the appeal of joining the Dolphins and what coaches had told him about coming here to back up Tua, and he replied: “Honestly, man, the conversations that I had with the coaches, man, they were transparent with everything.
"Being from South Florida, this is home. I get to sleep in my own bed every night. I don’t have to find somewhere to live. My son is here. My family's here. So it was pretty much smooth and there wasn’t too much to decide on. The football side will always take care of itself. I’m just looking forward to this opportunity that I have.”
Later in the conversation, though, I asked Bridgewater point blank (without making assumptions) what the Dolphins told him about his role.
“Honestly, man, that’s a conversation I’d rather keep in house," Bridgewater said. "It's a unique opportunity for me for this organization. And I'm happy that I could be a part of it this season. I’m going to be the best version of Teddy that I can be, helping the way that I know that I can help, being genuine and still giving my all to this game.”
More specifically, the follow-up question was whether he was coming in with the idea he definitely was coming in as Tagovailoa's backup or he felt he had a chance to win the starting job.
Said Bridgewater: “That’s something that the coaches and I, we talked about, and I’m confident and that conversation is really something that I'd rather not discuss.”
Bridgewater's Career and How He Fits the Offense
Why this is even worth mentioning is that Bridgewater's skill set seems to fit the Mike McDaniel offense and his 2021 stats were better than Tua's.
In 2021, Bridgewater completed almost 67 percent of his passes with 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions and had a 94.9 passer rating for the Denver Broncos. Tagovailoa, meanwhile, had a 67.8 completion percentage with 16 touchdowns and 10 picks and a 90.1 passer rating.
By all accounts and reporting, it's going to be Tua as the starting quarterback for the Dolphins in 2022, but let's just say that Bridgewater represents a more viable fall-back option if Tagovailoa doesn't develp as hoped as Jacoby Brissett represented in 2021.
And if he indeed is the backup, it's going to be a change of roles for Bridgewater, who started 15 games for the Carolina Panthers in 2020 before being traded to the Broncos. Before his time in Carolina, Bridgewater served as the backup in New Orleans to Drew Brees.
It was during his time in New Orleans that Bridgewater, who starred at Miami Northwestern High School, said he learned valuable lessons.
"It starts with throwing the ball to your guy," Bridgewater said. "That's how you last. Also, just having a process, a routine. I learned that. It took me until I got to New Orleans and Drew Brees to really understand the value of a process, having a routine. When you have those things, it makes the week ... you have some structure. You're not all over the place. On Sunday, you've got to be dialed in. Hopefully your routine is such a way that it has you prepared on Sunday."
Without mention of his role, Bridgewater says he's looking forward to play in the Dolphins' offense.
“Man, this offense, it’s quarterback-friendly," Bridgewater said. "There are always guys open, running wide open at times. This coaching staff, if you’ve followed them over the past couple of years you've seen that works. Get everyone involved from the running backs to the tight ends to the wide receivers. So that's appealing. And I'm just excited to continue to grow mentally in this league, learn a new offense and just grow.
"I've just got to get up to speed, do my part. I know this coaching staff will do a great job of getting everyone to be the best version of themself. Get guys to play to their strengths. All I've got to do is get a grasp of everything and go from there."
