Bridgewater excited to be back in Miami, quiet on his role

Updated Mar. 21, 2022 6:08 p.m. ET

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MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Teddy Bridgewater is presumably the Miami Dolphins’ backup quarterback for this coming season.

The key word there is “presumably.”

If Bridgewater is in fact committed to backing up Tua Tagovailoa in 2022, he’s not saying. The Dolphins made several of their free agent acquisitions available for interviews on Monday, and Bridgewater spoke at length about how excited he is to be back in his hometown. But as far as what the Dolphins told him during the free-agent process, he’s keeping that close to the vest.

“Honestly, that’s a conversation I’d rather keep in-house,” Bridgewater told reporters in a video conference. “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 how to help, being genuine and still giving my all to this game.”

Tagovailoa is entering his third season with the Dolphins, beginning his career as Ryan Fitzpatrick’s backup before becoming the full-fledged starter midway through his rookie campaign in 2020. He was atop the depth chart last season as well, though it was no secret that Miami investigated the possibility of acquiring Deshaun Watson from Houston — a story line that hovered over the Dolphins for weeks.

Tagovailoa started 12 games for Miami this past season. Bridgewater made 14 starts for the Denver Broncos, after starting 15 games the year before for the Carolina Panthers. The Dolphins gave him a $6.5 million contract that could be worth up to $10 million if certain incentives are met.

But Bridgewater wouldn’t even say if he expects there to be a competition for the starting job.

“That’s something that the coaches and I, we talked about,” Bridgewater said. “I’m confident in that conversation and it’s really something that I would rather not discuss.”

Whatever Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel and general manager Chris Grier said was only part of the reason why Bridgewater is playing for Miami in 2022. The lure of coming home was also too strong for him to ignore.

“This is home. I get to sleep in my own bed every night,” Bridgewater said. “Don’t have to find somewhere to live. My son is here. My family is here. 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.”

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