Teddy Bridgewater

Teddy Bridgewater is a quarterback for his hometown Detroit Lions and a testament to the power of overcoming adversity. A four-starrecruit out of high school, Bridgewater committed to the University of Louisville over thehometown favorite University of Miami. Bridgewater would start all three seasons at Louisville,amassing over 9,000 yards and 72 touchdowns, along with being named a Freshman All-Americanin 2011. In 2012, Bridgewater guided Louisville to their first-ever BCS Bowl victory, a33-23 victory over the Florida Gators in the Sugar Bowl. This victory thrust Bridgewater into thenational spotlight, and he entered 2013 as a pre-season Heisman favorite and projected first-round pick in the NFL. Bridgewater would have another fantastic season in 2013, coming withinone victory of another conference title and BCS bowl berth.

Bridgewater would be drafted by theMinnesota Vikings with the last pick of the first round in 2014. Bridgewater started the majority of games for the Vikings his rookie season and broke out to earn a Pro Bowl spot in year two. Unfortunately, he suffered a severe knee injury that offseason and played in just one game over the next two seasons. He went on and joined the New Orleans Saints. Bridgewater's 5-0 record and strong play in relief of Drew Brees in 2019 earned him acclaim around the league and led to him signing with the Carolina Panthers in 2020. After a year as the starter in Carolina, he was traded to the Denver Broncos. Bridgewater posted a second straight 3,000-yard passing season before signing with the Dolphins in 2022.