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Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Teddy Bridgewater reveals why he is 'very upset' to be back in the NFL after retirement U-turn at the age of 32
Teddy Bridgewater always planned to play football this year. Just maybe not quite this early. In a perfect world, the well-traveled quarterback wouldn't be spending this weekend in Pittsburgh getting ready for his preseason debut with Tampa Bay, but in Miami helping Northwestern High prepare to defend the Florida Class 3A title he coached his alma mater to last winter. Don't get Bridgewater wrong. The 32-year-old - whose retirement hasn't quite stuck more than 18 months after he announced it - is eager to go out and show he can still 'spin it.' And he's grateful to do it for a team that has ripped off four straight NFC South titles, a team that also happens to be not that far from home. Still, Bridgewater would be lying if he said this was his first choice. The plan was always to coach until Northwestern's season was over, then explore his options in the NFL, just as he did last year when he made a cameo with Detroit as Jared Goff's backup during the Lions' playoff push. A seemingly innocuous social media post changed everything. Bridgewater's Facebook message was designed to find donors willing to help offset team expenses not covered by the school, expenses - from food to rides home from practice - that he freely admitted he paid out of his own pocket in 2024. Yet his admission also constituted potential violations concerning impermissible benefits. Bridgewater - who did not take a salary as head coach - self-reported the payments and was subsequently suspended. The Florida High School Athletic Association's investigation is ongoing. 'It's very upsetting,' Bridgewater said following a joint practice between the Buccaneers and Steelers ahead of their preseason game at Acrisure Stadium on Saturday night. 'Just knowing that you have good intentions and those good intentions will be turned against you and used against you.' It's unclear when a resolution might come. For Bridgewater, who still communicates regularly with his at-the-moment former players, it can't get here fast enough. 'I´m hoping to get it resolved because those kids have a special place in my heart,' Bridgewater said. 'And I´d love to finish what I started with them.' Bridgewater didn't even rule out making the four-ish hour drive from Tampa to Miami on Fridays when the Buccaneers' schedule allows to attend a Northwestern game as a fan, at least for now. He'd love the opportunity to return one day as the coach of the school where he became a star in the late 2000s before embarking on a decorated college career at Louisville, followed by a nomadic journey through the NFL. When Bridgewater announced after the 2023 season that he was stepping away, he thought it would stick. He quickly agreed to become the head coach at Northwestern, eager to start the next chapter of his life. Yet he also stayed in shape, even taking snaps during the spring game, headset on all the while. He also remained in contact with Lions coach Dan Campbell and realized that playing could not only let him feed a passion to play that is very much still there, but set another kind of example in the process. 'I always see it as motivation for the kids to know that you can do whatever you put your mind to,' Bridgewater said. 'As long as you build those healthy relationships, continue to train, work hard year-round, opportunities are going to come.' Enter Tampa Bay, which reached out looking for someone experienced to join a quarterback room that includes Baker Mayfield, coming off the best season of his career. Bridgewater isn't with the Buccaneers to be the starter like he was during stints in Minnesota, Carolina and Denver, but a resource. 'Most good quarterbacks have another guy in there that´s a veteran, that´s pretty savvy, that understands the game and knows the game,' Tampa Bay coach Todd Bowles said. 'And (Teddy) can help Baker out. Coaching helps (Baker) out, but there´s nothing like seeing it from a player´s standpoint, and (Teddy) can give that to Baker.' There's also a fair amount of life left in Bridgewater's right arm. Wearing No. 16, he more than held his own while taking snaps during the joint practice with Pittsburgh. And with Mayfield getting the night off on Saturday, Bridgewater figures to get some extended run for the first time in a long time. However the rest of his 2025 goes, don't expect Bridgewater to commit full time to becoming one of those quarterbacks who are just fine with bouncing around the NFL deep into their 30s. Bridgewater first raised eyebrows when he admitted to spending thousands to help players His preference in the near term would be to find a way to still have the best of both worlds: coaching high schoolers during the fall, then seeing what work might be there for him when the calendar nears late December. He received feelers during the offseason after his stint with the Lions, and his answer was always some version of 'I'm up for it, check back when Northwestern is done.' Told preferring an unpaid coaching gig over the far more lucrative life of an NFL quarterback - even a backup one - makes him an outlier of sorts, and Bridgewater just shrugged. 'Yeah, I can make a ton of money playing football and coaching high school ball, I get nothing,' he said. 'But it´s not even about the money. It´s about giving those kids a building block to go out into the real world and be productive.'
CBS News
4 days ago
- Sport
- CBS News
Teddy Bridgewater makes NFL return sooner than he had planned
Teddy Bridgewater always planned to play football this year. Just maybe not quite this early. In a perfect world, the well-traveled quarterback wouldn't be spending this weekend in Pittsburgh getting ready for his preseason debut with Tampa Bay, but in Miami helping Northwestern High prepare to defend the Florida Class 3A title he coached his alma mater to last winter. Don't get Bridgewater wrong. The 32-year-old, whose retirement hasn't quite stuck more than 18 months after he announced it, is eager to go out and show he can still "spin it." And he's grateful to do it for a team that has ripped off four straight NFC South titles, a team that also happens to be not that far from home. Still, Bridgewater would be lying if he said this was his first choice. The plan was always to coach until Northwestern's season was over, then explore his options in the NFL, just as he did last year when he made a cameo with Detroit as Jared Goff's backup during the Lions' playoff push. A seemingly innocuous social media post changed everything. Bridgewater's Facebook message was designed to find donors willing to help offset team expenses not covered by the school, expenses — from food to rides home from practice — that he freely admitted he paid out of his own pocket in 2024. Yet his admission also constituted potential violations concerning impermissible benefits. Bridgewater, who did not take a salary as head coach, self-reported the payments and was subsequently suspended. The Florida High School Athletic Association's investigation is ongoing. "It's very upsetting," Bridgewater said following a joint practice between the Buccaneers and Steelers ahead of their preseason game at Acrisure Stadium on Saturday night. "Just knowing that you have good intentions and those good intentions will be turned against you and used against you." It's unclear when a resolution might come. For Bridgewater, who still communicates regularly with his at-the-moment former players, it can't get here fast enough. "I'm hoping to get it resolved because those kids have a special place in my heart," Bridgewater said. "And I'd love to finish what I started with them." Bridgewater didn't even rule out making the four-ish hour drive from Tampa to Miami on Fridays when the Buccaneers' schedule allows to attend a Northwestern game as a fan, at least for now. He'd love the opportunity to return one day as the coach of the school where he became a star in the late 2000s before embarking on a decorated college career at Louisville, followed by a nomadic journey through the NFL. When Bridgewater announced after the 2023 season that he was stepping away, he thought it would stick. He quickly agreed to become the head coach at Northwestern, eager to start the next chapter of his life. Yet he also stayed in shape, even taking snaps during the spring game, headset on all the while. He also remained in contact with Lions coach Dan Campbell and realized that playing could not only let him feed a passion to play that is very much still there, but set another kind of example in the process. "I always see it as motivation for the kids to know that you can do whatever you put your mind to," Bridgewater said. "As long as you build those healthy relationships, continue to train, work hard year-round, opportunities are going to come." Enter Tampa Bay, which reached out looking for someone experienced to join a quarterback room that includes Baker Mayfield, coming off the best season of his career. Bridgewater isn't with the Buccaneers to be the starter like he was during stints in Minnesota, Carolina and Denver, but a resource. "Most good quarterbacks have another guy in there that's a veteran, that's pretty savvy, that understands the game and knows the game," Tampa Bay coach Todd Bowles said. "And (Teddy) can help Baker out. Coaching helps (Baker) out, but there's nothing like seeing it from a player's standpoint, and (Teddy) can give that to Baker." There's also a fair amount of life left in Bridgewater's right arm. Wearing No. 16, he more than held his own while taking snaps during the joint practice with Pittsburgh. And with Mayfield getting the night off on Saturday, Bridgewater figures to get some extended run for the first time in a long time. However the rest of his 2025 goes, don't expect Bridgewater to commit full time to becoming one of those quarterbacks who are just fine with bouncing around the NFL deep into their 30s. His preference in the near term would be to find a way to still have the best of both worlds: coaching high schoolers during the fall, then seeing what work might be there for him when the calendar nears late December. He received feelers during the offseason after his stint with the Lions, and his answer was always some version of "I'm up for it, check back when Northwestern is done." Told preferring an unpaid coaching gig over the far more lucrative life of an NFL quarterback — even a backup one — makes him an outlier of sorts, and Bridgewater just shrugged. "Yeah, I can make a ton of money playing football and coaching high school ball, I get nothing," he said. "But it's not even about the money. It's about giving those kids a building block to go out into the real world and be productive."
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Teddy Bridgewater is hoping to make the best of his NFL return amid high school coaching suspension
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Teddy Bridgewater always planned to play football this year. Just maybe not quite this early. In a perfect world, the well-traveled quarterback wouldn't be spending this weekend in Pittsburgh getting ready for his preseason debut with Tampa Bay, but in Miami helping Northwestern High prepare to defend the Florida Class 3A title he coached his alma mater to last winter. Don't get Bridgewater wrong. The 32-year-old — whose retirement hasn't quite stuck more than 18 months after he announced it — is eager to go out and show he can still 'spin it." And he's grateful to do it for a team that has ripped off four straight NFC South titles, a team that also happens to be not that far from home. Still, Bridgewater would be lying if he said this was his first choice. The plan was always to coach until Northwestern's season was over, then explore his options in the NFL, just as he did last year when he made a cameo with Detroit as Jared Goff's backup during the Lions' playoff push. A seemingly innocuous social media post changed everything. Suspension changes plans Bridgewater's Facebook message was designed to find donors willing to help offset team expenses not covered by the school, expenses — from food to rides home from practice — that he freely admitted he paid out of his own pocket in 2024. Yet his admission also constituted potential violations concerning impermissible benefits. Bridgewater — who did not take a salary as head coach — self-reported the payments and was subsequently suspended. The Florida High School Athletic Association's investigation is ongoing. 'It's very upsetting,' Bridgewater said following a joint practice between the Buccaneers and Steelers ahead of their preseason game at Acrisure Stadium on Saturday night. 'Just knowing that you have good intentions and those good intentions will be turned against you and used against you.' It's unclear when a resolution might come. For Bridgewater, who still communicates regularly with his at-the-moment former players, it can't get here fast enough. 'I'm hoping to get it resolved because those kids have a special place in my heart,' Bridgewater said. 'And I'd love to finish what I started with them.' Bridgewater didn't even rule out making the four-ish hour drive from Tampa to Miami on Fridays when the Buccaneers' schedule allows to attend a Northwestern game as a fan, at least for now. He'd love the opportunity to return one day as the coach of the school where he became a star in the late 2000s before embarking on a decorated college career at Louisville, followed by a nomadic journey through the NFL. Setting an example from afar When Bridgewater announced after the 2023 season that he was stepping away, he thought it would stick. He quickly agreed to become the head coach at Northwestern, eager to start the next chapter of his life. Yet he also stayed in shape, even taking snaps during the spring game, headset on all the while. He also remained in contact with Lions coach Dan Campbell and realized that playing could not only let him feed a passion to play that is very much still there, but set another kind of example in the process. 'I always see it as motivation for the kids to know that you can do whatever you put your mind to," Bridgewater said. 'As long as you build those healthy relationships, continue to train, work hard year-round, opportunities are going to come.' Enter Tampa Bay, which reached out looking for someone experienced to join a quarterback room that includes Baker Mayfield, coming off the best season of his career. Bridgewater isn't with the Buccaneers to be the starter like he was during stints in Minnesota, Carolina and Denver, but a resource. 'Most good quarterbacks have another guy in there that's a veteran, that's pretty savvy, that understands the game and knows the game," Tampa Bay coach Todd Bowles said. "And (Teddy) can help Baker out. Coaching helps (Baker) out, but there's nothing like seeing it from a player's standpoint, and (Teddy) can give that to Baker.' There's also a fair amount of life left in Bridgewater's right arm. Wearing No. 16, he more than held his own while taking snaps during the joint practice with Pittsburgh. And with Mayfield getting the night off on Saturday, Bridgewater figures to get some extended run for the first time in a long time. However the rest of his 2025 goes, don't expect Bridgewater to commit full time to becoming one of those quarterbacks who are just fine with bouncing around the NFL deep into their 30s. His preference in the near term would be to find a way to still have the best of both worlds: coaching high schoolers during the fall, then seeing what work might be there for him when the calendar nears late December. He received feelers during the offseason after his stint with the Lions, and his answer was always some version of 'I'm up for it, check back when Northwestern is done.' Told preferring an unpaid coaching gig over the far more lucrative life of an NFL quarterback — even a backup one — makes him an outlier of sorts, and Bridgewater just shrugged. 'Yeah, I can make a ton of money playing football and coaching high school ball, I get nothing,' he said. 'But it's not even about the money. It's about giving those kids a building block to go out into the real world and be productive." ___ AP NFL:
Associated Press
4 days ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
Teddy Bridgewater is hoping to make the best of his NFL return amid high school coaching suspension
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Teddy Bridgewater always planned to play football this year. Just maybe not quite this early. In a perfect world, the well-traveled quarterback wouldn't be spending this weekend in Pittsburgh getting ready for his preseason debut with Tampa Bay, but in Miami helping Northwestern High prepare to defend the Florida Class 3A title he coached his alma mater to last winter. Don't get Bridgewater wrong. The 32-year-old — whose retirement hasn't quite stuck more than 18 months after he announced it — is eager to go out and show he can still 'spin it.' And he's grateful to do it for a team that has ripped off four straight NFC South titles, a team that also happens to be not that far from home. Still, Bridgewater would be lying if he said this was his first choice. The plan was always to coach until Northwestern's season was over, then explore his options in the NFL, just as he did last year when he made a cameo with Detroit as Jared Goff's backup during the Lions' playoff push. A seemingly innocuous social media post changed everything. Suspension changes plans Bridgewater's Facebook message was designed to find donors willing to help offset team expenses not covered by the school, expenses — from food to rides home from practice — that he freely admitted he paid out of his own pocket in 2024. Yet his admission also constituted potential violations concerning impermissible benefits. Bridgewater — who did not take a salary as head coach — self-reported the payments and was subsequently suspended. The Florida High School Athletic Association's investigation is ongoing. 'It's very upsetting,' Bridgewater said following a joint practice between the Buccaneers and Steelers ahead of their preseason game at Acrisure Stadium on Saturday night. 'Just knowing that you have good intentions and those good intentions will be turned against you and used against you.' It's unclear when a resolution might come. For Bridgewater, who still communicates regularly with his at-the-moment former players, it can't get here fast enough. 'I'm hoping to get it resolved because those kids have a special place in my heart,' Bridgewater said. 'And I'd love to finish what I started with them.' Bridgewater didn't even rule out making the four-ish hour drive from Tampa to Miami on Fridays when the Buccaneers' schedule allows to attend a Northwestern game as a fan, at least for now. He'd love the opportunity to return one day as the coach of the school where he became a star in the late 2000s before embarking on a decorated college career at Louisville, followed by a nomadic journey through the NFL. Setting an example from afar When Bridgewater announced after the 2023 season that he was stepping away, he thought it would stick. He quickly agreed to become the head coach at Northwestern, eager to start the next chapter of his life. Yet he also stayed in shape, even taking snaps during the spring game, headset on all the while. He also remained in contact with Lions coach Dan Campbell and realized that playing could not only let him feed a passion to play that is very much still there, but set another kind of example in the process. 'I always see it as motivation for the kids to know that you can do whatever you put your mind to,' Bridgewater said. 'As long as you build those healthy relationships, continue to train, work hard year-round, opportunities are going to come.' Enter Tampa Bay, which reached out looking for someone experienced to join a quarterback room that includes Baker Mayfield, coming off the best season of his career. Bridgewater isn't with the Buccaneers to be the starter like he was during stints in Minnesota, Carolina and Denver, but a resource. 'Most good quarterbacks have another guy in there that's a veteran, that's pretty savvy, that understands the game and knows the game,' Tampa Bay coach Todd Bowles said. 'And (Teddy) can help Baker out. Coaching helps (Baker) out, but there's nothing like seeing it from a player's standpoint, and (Teddy) can give that to Baker.' There's also a fair amount of life left in Bridgewater's right arm. Wearing No. 16, he more than held his own while taking snaps during the joint practice with Pittsburgh. And with Mayfield getting the night off on Saturday, Bridgewater figures to get some extended run for the first time in a long time. However the rest of his 2025 goes, don't expect Bridgewater to commit full time to becoming one of those quarterbacks who are just fine with bouncing around the NFL deep into their 30s. His preference in the near term would be to find a way to still have the best of both worlds: coaching high schoolers during the fall, then seeing what work might be there for him when the calendar nears late December. He received feelers during the offseason after his stint with the Lions, and his answer was always some version of 'I'm up for it, check back when Northwestern is done.' Told preferring an unpaid coaching gig over the far more lucrative life of an NFL quarterback — even a backup one — makes him an outlier of sorts, and Bridgewater just shrugged. 'Yeah, I can make a ton of money playing football and coaching high school ball, I get nothing,' he said. 'But it's not even about the money. It's about giving those kids a building block to go out into the real world and be productive.' ___ AP NFL:
Miami Herald
24-04-2025
- General
- Miami Herald
Paying tribute to two longtime friends who recently passed away
I am living at a time when I am attending more and more funerals of friends. Just recently, two longtime friends died only days apart. Ivey Kearson died April 8, and Marcia Johnson Martin Saunders died a few days later, on April 21. A litany service for Ivey was held last Monday, followed by a Celebration of Life on Tuesday at The Episcopal Church of the Incarnation in Liberty City, where he was a dedicated member. There was no written obituary in Ivey's funeral program. Instead, strictly in Ivey's style, there was a six-page, abbreviated story of his life, his accomplishments and failures told in his words, and in his way. The title: 'I Did it My Way.' Between each line on each page were bits and pieces of a life well-lived, from his Overtown birth to his days at Dorsey Junior High School, Northwestern High (class of 1964), Kentucky State University and Florida A&M University, where he graduated in 1969, and where he met his first wife and the mother of their son, Ivey Christopher Kearson III. Before he went to work for the city of Miami in 1979, Ivey had stints as a high school teacher, an airline reservation clerk, a counselor at a treatment facility and a business developer with New Washington Heights Community Development Corporation. With the city of Miami, Ivey said, he was 'tasked' with preserving some of the historic structures in the Overtown community. He also served as the director of the Overtown Neighborhood Jobs Program (OJP), which became so successful under his direction that it was expanded citywide as the City of Miami Neighborhood Jobs Program (NJP). He met the former Linda Vickers in 1979 and said they cultivated a relationship that started as friends and blossomed into a once-in-a-lifetime love story. They married in 1988 and blended their family, which included Ivey's son Chris and Linda's daughter from a previous union, Kelli Vickers Gay . He called Linda the 'heart and soul of my being' and marveled at the fact that they were best friends as well as husband and wife. Friends of Ivey and Linda describe the couple as 'hand-in-glove.' They complemented each other. To Ivey, it seemed Linda could do no wrong. It was the same with Linda, about Ivey. Marcia and Ivey were the kind of people who left their mark on you: Once you meet them and get to know them, you never forget them. While Ivey was a dapper, laugh-out-loud kind of guy, Marcia was soft-spoken and rather laid back. But hidden beneath that softness was a steel rose. In their lifetime, Ivey and Marcia were simply ordinary people who loved other human beings and showed their love by trying to uplift their community and give its people a better status in life. By doing so, they left their mark on my life, and many others. I met Ivey Kearson about 30 years ago. I was drawn to him because he reminded me of my only brother, Adam. I had met Linda several years before. Marcia and I became friends while we were attending Booker T. (as we referred to the school). I was a senior and she was a sophomore. We both were majorettes with BTW's Marching 100 - I held up the end of our line, and Marcia marched beside me on the inside. We became friends and remained so until her death. Both Ivey and Marcia were proud members of the Overtown community. Both were born in the area, then known to some as the Central Negro District or Colored Town. Ivey was the youngest of his siblings, while Marcia was the only child of the late Donald and Doris Brown Ward Johnson. Both of their families doted on them. After elementary school, Marcia entered Booker T. Washington Jr./Sr. High school, where she was elected 'Miss BTW' and graduated with honors in 1958. She went on to Hampton Institute in Hampton, Virginia, where she earned a bachelors in Elementary Education in 1962. She also studied at the University of Miami. After graduating from Hampton, Marcia got her first job as a teacher at Dunbar Elementary School. She later married Montez C. Martin Jr., who was in the military. For seven years she traveled with him to his military assignments at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and Mount Vernon, New York, and taught in military schools. During this time, the couple welcomed their daughters, Tanya Elayne Martin Pekel, (who preceded her in death in 2026), and Terrie Lanita. Back home in Miami, Marcia decided to pursue a different caree, and became a coordinator for Miami-Dade Community College's New Careers Job Training Program, where she trained and empowered her students to reach their full potential. Marcia had a great sense of humor and dressed elegantly. She loved people and they loved her back, because she always had a ready smile and encouraging words to impart. She went about her work diligently and with a determined spirit. And in 1971, she was appointed as the first director of the county's Black Affairs Office, which was created to increase the Black community's access to county government services and programs. Marcia was a devoted Christian and a longtime member of The Episcopal Church of the Incarnation, where she served as a member of the Episcopal Church Women, The Order of The Daughters of the King, the Vestry Board and many other church organizations. She was a proud and dedicated member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, the Dade County Chapter of The Links, the United Way, the Urban League of Greater Miami and many more organizations. She was as tough as she was gentle. She proved her toughness during the 1980 riot, which erupted after a Tampa judge acquitted the four police officers who brutally beat to death insurance salesman Arthur McDuffie. Marcia, along with the late Rev. J. Kenneth Major, then rector of The Episcopal Church of the Incarnation, were among several community leaders who played a pivotal role in helping to calm the community during the unrest. Marcia joined other community leaders like the late Georgia Jones Ayers and the late Congresswoman Carrie Meek in calming the protesters and urging them to get off the streets. She was highly respected for her unwavering commitment to excellence and fairness. And in 1983, she was promoted to director of the Fair Employment Practices and Diversity Program for Miami-Dade County. Marcia's office had jurisdiction over resolving grievances, mediating conflicts and overseeing the county's affirmative action programs. She was often called on to mediate community disputes and testify in state and federal courts on matters related to affirmative action, sexual harassment and employment practices. Her influence went beyond Miami Dade County. Marcia was appointed to the United States 11th District Circuit Judicial Nomination Commission, which helps select federal judges in Florida. She also served on the State University System of Florida's Equal Opportunity Committee. She had served Miami-Dade County for more than 30 years when she retired in 2003. 'Her greatest joy was becoming a grandmother,' said her daughter, Terrie Rayburn. 'She traveled frequently to attend her six grandchildren's events, always with her camera in hand.' In addition to daughter Terrie (Wendell), Marcia is survived by son-in-law Kent Pekel; grandchildren Taylor Rayburn, Lauren Oubre Fermin (Oelmis), Carter Rayburn, Adam Pekel, Sydney Rayburn, and Victoria Pekel, and many beloved relative and cherished friends, including lifelong friends Maud Newbold and Patricia McCartney. A litany service will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday followed by a funeral service at 10 a.m. Friday at The Episcopal Church of the Incarnation at 1835 NW 54th St.
