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Teddy Bridgewater is playing for the Buccaneers, but his heart is with his high school players at Miami Northwestern.
If they weren’t already, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are now officially in the market for a backup quarterback in 2026.
The backup from 2025, veteran Teddy Bridgewater, is returning to the Detroit Lions on a free-agent contract.
“He’s back: Teddy Bridgewater is headed back to the Lions, per The Insiders,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport wrote on his official X account.
Bridgewater, 33 years old, is a former 1st round pick who has played for 8 teams in 12 seasons and was the backup quarterback on the Lions in 2023 and 2024. He pulled off a training camp upset in 2025 with the Buccaneers when he beat out former 2nd round pick Kyle Trask to win the backup job to 2-time Pro Bowler Baker Mayfield.
There’s a chance the Buccaneers may already have a plan in place to replace Bridgewater.
“Just last week, we reported that the Buccaneers would not bring him back, making him a free agent,” Preme Football wrote on its official X account. “Bridgewater now heads back to Detroit.”
Bridgewater, who led Miami Northwestern High School to the state championship in 2024 as their head coach, has approximately $67.3 million in career earnings through 12 seasons.
Option 1: Sign/Trade Veteran Backup QB
The 1st, easiest, and most practical option for the Buccaneers would be to sign a veteran backup quarterback. Of that group, former No. 3 overall pick Trey Lance might be the best (and least expensive option), but former No. 2 overall pick Zach Wilson might be a better option, as his game is more similar to Mayfield’s than Lance’s might be.
Another option would be to trade for a backup quarterback. If the Buccaneers are going to do that, it might be worth reaching out to the Cleveland Browns to see if they would take a 6th or 7th round pick back in exchange for Dillon Gabriel, a 2025 4th round pick.
There’s also the chance the Buccaneers could bring back Trask, who they released after he was beat out by Bridgewater in training camp.
In each of Trask’s 4 seasons as a backup on the Buccaneers after he was selected in the 2nd round (No. 65 overall) of the 2021 NFL draft, the team made the playoffs.
In the 1st season without him, Tampa Bay went 8-9 and missed the playoffs for the 1st time since 2019.
Option 2: Draft QB to Develop in 2026 NFL Draft
Another option for the Buccaneers would be to take a quarterback in the 2026 NFL draft — maybe Day 2 or Day 3. It might be a smart move considering Mayfield is in the final season of his 3-year, $100 million contract in 2026.
Depending on the outcome of a court case to determine his eligibility — right now he’s going to be allowed to play in 2026 — one intriguing option in the early rounds for the Buccaneers might be Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, who came out of nowhere to lead the Rebels to the College Football Playoff semifinals and will likely be available in the second or third rounds.
Chambliss went 25-3 as a starter the last 2 seasons, leading Ferris State to the NCAA Division II National Championship in 2024 at Ferris State before becoming a surprise star at Ole Miss in 2025, where he threw for 3,937 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions to go with 527 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns.
Tony Adame covers the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Commanders, Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos. A veteran sports writer and editor since 2004, his work has been featured at Stadium Talk, Yardbarker, NW Florida Daily News and Pensacola News Journal. More about Tony Adame
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