Teddy Bridgewater

Teddy Bridgewater

No. 5 – Minnesota Vikings
Position:	Quarterback
Personal information
Born:	(1992-11-10) November 10, 1992 Miami, Florida
Height:	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:	210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
College:	Louisville
NFL draft:	2014 / round: 1 / pick: 32
Career history
Minnesota Vikings (2014–present)
Roster status:	Active
Career highlights and awards
Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year (2014) NFC North Rookie of the Year (2014) 2014 PFWA All-Rookie Team 2x NFL 2014 Pepsi Rookie of The Week (Weeks 4 and 13) 2x NFL 2014 GMC Never Say Never Moment Winner (Weeks 9 and 14) Freshman All-American (2011) Big East Rookie of the Year (2011) Big East Conference Title (2012) Big East Offensive Player of The Year (2012) 2013 Sugar Bowl Champion (2012 Season) 2013 Sugar Bowl MVP (2012 Season) 2013 Russell Athletic Bowl Champion (2013 Season) 2013 Russell Athletic Bowl MVP (2013 Season)
Career NFL statistics
Pass attempts: 402 Pass completions: 259 Percentage: 64.4 TD–INT: 14–12 Passing Yards: 2,919 QB Rating: 85.2 Stats at Pro Football Reference

Theodore Edmond "Teddy" Bridgewater II (born November 10, 1992) is an American football quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Vikings in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Louisville.

Early years

Bridgewater was born in Miami, Florida on November 10, 1992, the son of Rose Murphy. He attended Miami Northwestern High School. In his sophomore year, he replaced Jacory Harris, who had graduated and started playing for the University of Miami, as starting quarterback and took over a team that had been named the 2007 national champions by USA Today. He completed 97 of 160 attempts (60.6 percent) for 1,560 yards over the season, throwing 16 touchdowns with three interceptions. He also carried 45 times for 211 yards (4.7 average) and two more scores. Northwestern finished the season 13–3, falling short to Seminole High School of Sanford 28–21 in the 6A state title game.

In his junior year, Bridgewater passed for 2,546 yards and 32 touchdowns and rushed for 379 yards and five more scores. In a late-September game against Hialeah-Miami Lakes High School, he completed 19-of-24 passes for 327 yards and a Dade County record of seven touchdowns. He was named second team All-State for 6A classification and first team All-County by the Miami Herald. Northwestern finished the season 10–2, after a 29–16 loss to rival Miami Central High School.

As a senior, Bridgewater had 2,606 passing yards and 22 touchdowns despite missing parts of the season with a medial collateral ligament injury. He also rushed for 223 yards and eight more scores. Northwestern had a 9–3 record for the season, losing 42–27 to Miami Central in the 6-A semifinals, in which he threw for 436 yards and scored four touchdowns.

Recruiting

Regarded as a four-star recruit, Bridgewater was considered the sixth best dual-threat quarterback prospect in the nation by Rivals.com. He played in the 2011 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	40‡	Commit date
Teddy Bridgewater QB	Miami, Florida	Miami Northwestern High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	4.7	Dec 10, 2010
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 80
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 6 (QB)   Rivals: 6 (QB), 23 (FL), 113 (National)  ESPN: 9 (QB), 73 (Southeast)
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Louisville Football Commitment List". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 25, 2013. "Louisville College Football Recruiting Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved November 25, 2013. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 25, 2013. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved November 25, 2013. "2011 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 25, 2013.

College career

As a freshman in 2011, Bridgewater entered the season as a backup but started the Cardinals' fourth game of the season against Marshall and remained the starter the rest of the year. He finished the season completing 191 of 296 passes for 2,129 yards with 14 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. For his play he was named the Big East Rookie of the Year and was named a freshman All-American by Rivals.com, Scout.com, CBS Sports, and Sporting News.

As a sophomore in 2012 Bridgewater started 11 of 12 regular season games. In his only non-starting action, coming off the bench while injured against Rutgers, he led his team to a win, a Big East title, and a berth to the BCS. He finished the regular season completing 267 of 387 passes for 3,452 yards with 25 touchdowns and just 7 interceptions. He finished 6th in the nation in completion percentage, 8th in yards per attempt, and 7th in passing efficiency. For his play, he was named the Big East Offensive Player of the Year.

Bridgewater and his Cardinals football team entered the 2013 Sugar Bowl against the Florida Gators as decided underdogs. Although Florida boasted the nation's #1 pass efficiency defense, Bridgewater passed for 266 yards and a pair of touchdowns to become the game's MVP in a 33-23 win.

As a junior in 2013, Bridgewater completed 303 of 427 passes for 3,970 yards with 31 touchdowns and four interceptions. In his final college game against the Miami Hurricanes in the 2013 Russell Athletic Bowl, he completed 35 of 42 passes for 447 yards three touchdowns and was named the game's MVP.

Statistics

NCAA Collegiate Career statistics
Louisville Cardinals
Season	Passing								Rushing					Receiving			Total Offense
	Comp	Att	Yds	Pct	TD	Int	Sack	Rating	Att	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD	Rec	Yds	Avg	Yards
2011	191	296	2,129	64.5%	14	12	33	132.4	89	66	0.7	26	4	0	0	0	2,195
2012	287	419	3,718	68.5%	27	8	28	160.5	74	26	0.4	17	1	0	0	0	3,744
2013	303	427	3,970	71.0%	31	4	28	169.7	63	78	1.2	20	1	0	0	0	4,048
Total	781	1,142	9,817	68.4%	72	24	83	157.2	226	170	0.8	26	6	0	0	0	9,987

Professional career

2014 NFL Draft

As early as April 2013, Bridgewater was seen as one of the top prospects for the 2014 NFL Draft, alongside Jadeveon Clowney and Johnny Manziel. Reports said that, had he been eligible for the 2013 draft, he most likely would have been the first quarterback taken. At one point, he was projected by many to be the first overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. On January 1, 2014, Bridgewater announced that he would forgo his final year of eligibility at Louisville.

Pre-draft measurables

Height	Weight	Arm length	Hand span	40-yard dash	10-yard split	20-yard split	20-yard shuttle	Three-cone drill	Vertical jump	Broad jump	Wonderlic
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	214 lb (97 kg)	33 in (0.84 m)	9+1⁄4	4.79 s	1.63 s	2.76 s	4.20 s	7.17 s	30 in (0.76 m)	9 ft 5 in (2.87 m)	20
All values from NFL Combine, 40 yard dash times from Louisville Pro Day

Minnesota Vikings

He was selected by the Minnesota Vikings as the 32nd and final pick of the first round of the draft. The Vikings had traded their second round and fourth round picks to the Seattle Seahawks to move up and select Bridgewater. Bridgewater signed a four-year contract worth $6.85 million with a $3.3 million signing bonus with the Minnesota Vikings.

2014 season

Bridgewater entered the season as the second string quarterback, behind veteran Matt Cassel but ahead of Christian Ponder. Bridgewater made his regular season debut on September 21, 2014 against the New Orleans Saints, entering in relief of the injured Cassel and finishing the game with 150 passing yards. He was named the starting quarterback for the remainder of the season after Cassel, who broke his foot in the aforementioned game, was placed on injury reserve. On Sunday, September 28, 2014, he made his first regular season start against the Atlanta Falcons and won the game, in large part due to his 317 passing yards, and scored his first NFL touchdown off a 13-yard run into the end zone. After spraining his ankle during the Falcons matchup, Bridgewater was inactive for the next game against the Green Bay Packers on Thursday Night Football in Week 5. Bridgewater was able to recover for the week 6 game against the Detroit Lions. However, a weak offensive line against a strong Lions' defense led to a 17–3 rout. Bridgewater was picked off three times, two from tipped passes, and was sacked 8 times. In week 7 against the Buffalo Bills, Bridgewater threw his first career touchdown pass to Cordarrelle Patterson. Despite five sacks and two interceptions, Bridgewater helped the Vikings get a 16–10 lead over the Bills. The effort was negated only by the Bills' comeback win which put them 17–16 with no time to retaliate. Next week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Bridgewater had a 1 touchdown, no interception performance and would be sacked only once. He would be able to lead a game-tying drive to force overtime, where fellow first-round pick Anthony Barr made a game-winning fumble recovery on the Bucs' first overtime play, giving the Vikings a 19–13 win. His third win as a starter, a 29–26 comeback win over the Washington Redskins, broke a record shared by both Fran Tarkenton and Ponder for wins among starting rookie quarterbacks. Bridgewater added to this record with wins over the Carolina Panthers, New York Jets, and Chicago Bears in weeks 13, 14, and 17 respectively. The win over the Jets is notable for when WR Jarius Wright turned a screen pass from Bridgewater into an 87-yard touchdown, giving the Vikings another overtime win. Bridgewater finished the 2014 season with 2,919 yards passing, 14 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and an 85.2 passer rating. He played in 13 games, starting 12 of them. On January 13, 2015, Bridgewater was selected as the QB of the 2014 NFL All-Rookie team by the Pro Football Writers of America. Bridgewater also won the 2014 Pepsi Rookie of the Year award, as voted by fans.

Statistics

Regular season

Year	Team	G	GS	W-L	Passing								Rushing				Sacked		Fumbles
					Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	Y/A	TD	Int	Rtg	Att	Yds	Avg	TD	Sack	Yds	Fum	Lost
2014	MIN	13	12	6-6	259	402	64.4	2,919	7.26	14	12	85.2	47	209	4.4	1	39	249	3	0
	Total	13	12	6-6	259	402	64.4	2,919	7.26	14	12	85.2	47	209	4.4	1	39	249	3	0

Career highlights

NFL awards and honors

• 2x NFL 2014 Pepsi Rookie of The Week (Weeks 4 and 13)
• 2x NFL 2014 GMC Never Say Never Moment Winner (Weeks 9 and 14)
• 2014 NFL All-Rookie Team
• 2014 NFL Pepsi Rookie of the Year

NFL Records

• Highest completion percentage in a single game by a rookie quarterback with at least 40 attempts: 75.6% (December 14, 2014)
• First rookie Quarterback to ever complete >70% of his passes in four straight games

Minnesota Vikings records

• Most wins in a season by a rookie starting quarterback: 6
• Highest single season completion percentage by a rookie: 64.4
• Highest single season passer rating by a rookie: 85.2
• Most passing attempts in a season by a rookie: 402
• Most completions in a season by a rookie: 259
• Most passing yards by a rookie quarterback: 2,919
• Longest pass by a rookie quarterback: 87
• Most completions in a game by a rookie: 31 (December 14, 2014)

Personal life

Bridgewater is the youngest of four children. He graduated from the University of Louisville with a degree in Sports Administration after the 2013 college football season. His mother, Rose, is a well documented breast cancer survivor. In 2014, soon after being drafted by the Minnesota Vikings, his mother received a Pink Cadillac Escalade, which was famously noted to be one of Teddy's lifelong dreams.

External links

• Minnesota Vikings bio
• Louisville Cardinals bio