TED TALKS OPENLY
Bridgewater continues to show his fighting spirit: ‘It’s in my DNA’
Six hundred fifty-two days after the worst moment of his professional life, Teddy Bridgewater was doing Teddy Bridgewater things, showing terrific pocket presence, making smart decisions and reminding us how an unshakeable faith can make all things possible.
The first day of Jets minicamp was a good day like every day is a good day for a man who has been to hell and back and lived to tell about it. Bridgewater, hoping to reclaim his career, is brimming with positivity in his comeback from a grievous knee injury (torn ACL and dislocation) that could have taken away much more than his football career.
If ever there were a person to root for, it’s this guy. He speaks with authenticity, vulnerability and honesty. He’s resilient and selfless.
Images from the day that his career took a different path will live in his mind’s eye forever, but he’s not anchored by one moment during an August practice two years ago.
“It was scary, but at the end of the day, I was still breathing,” Bridgewater said Tuesday. “Like, ‘Man, I don’t know what just happened, but I know there’s someone out there maybe going through something worse than I am. So, I have to keep my faith and believe that everything is going to be alright…’ All you need is the faith of a mustard seed and you’ll be all right.”
Injuries are a part of life in his chosen profession, but they are not created equally. Sprains and broken bones come with a specific timeline and near perfect recovery rate. Bridgewater’s knee injury was complicated. It stole two years from his burgeoning career. When asked about that fateful day, he remembers how everyone else around him experienced it.
“I think about the reaction of my teammates,” Bridgewater said. “As gruesome as it may have seemed, I feel I did a great job of remaining poised. There were guys throwing helmets. Guys on knees. And I didn’t cry. I didn’t worry. I just knew that it was in God’s hands. So, I think I was impressed with the way I kept my faith. But I just got to see how I meant to the guys not only as a football player, but as a person. Because it could have gone totally south. To be able to stand here right now, I’m thankful to the guys that supported me throughout the injury and the guys that were there for me and are still there for me to this day.”
He is far from out of the woods, but confident that his compass will guide him in the right direction. He has a strong will and mind to overcome what Todd Bowles called “probably one of the worst injuries I’ve seen since the LT-Thiesman injury” all those years ago.
“I can’t even relate to someone having an injury like that,” Bowles said. “But just knowing Teddy’s personality and the drive he has, it doesn’t surprise me.”
He has a hero in his mother, Rose Murphy, who beat breast cancer a decade ago. Her struggle buoyed him through his struggle.
“She was a fighter,” Bridgewater said. “I witnessed her fight and her battle with breast cancer. I took away those traits… She was never really down because she would always say, ‘Someone out there, their situation is way worse than mine. So, I can’t be down. Plus, the cancer feeds off negativity. So, I have to be positive.’ So that’s why I feel like I’m this positive guy. Watching her continue to smile and stay upbeat throughout her toughest times in life, it had a huge impact on me.”
“It’s in my DNA,” Bridgewater said of his fighting spirit. “That’s something she instilled in me. I’m glad that I have that trait.”
Nobody will truly know how hard the road back was for Bridgewater, but he gave an indication at the enormity of it all upon returning to the Vikings last November, crying into a towel when reality set in on the sideline on November 8.
“This game means a lot to me,” Bridgewater said. “I’ve been playing football since I was 5 years old. It brought tears to my eyes because it showed me that you’re never out of it. You’re never out of the fight. There were dark days throughout my rehab process. When you’re rehabbing, the light at the end of the tunnel seems so far (away). But to be able to see that light and make it to the light, being active and standing on that sideline with my gear on, it kind of hit me a little.”
“Usually when you have a dream and you wake up and you go back to sleep, you don’t pick up that same dream,” he continued. “For me, I was fortunate enough to go to sleep, wake up, and go back to sleep and pick up my dream right where it left off. So, I’m just blessed to be in this position. Those tears were tears of joy.”
Bridgewater continued to impress with his new team on Tuesday, moving well with a knee brace under a black sleeve. He made sharp passes and sharp decisions as he hopes to find his way again. He rolled out without a hitch. He was poised and under control liked he used to be once upon a time.
The Jets hope that Sam Darnold will be ready to be the Week 1 starter, but I’ve been told that the brain trust won’t hesitate to turn to Bridgewater to open the season if the rookie needs more seasoning. Bridgewater’s next true test won’t come until he’s exposed to contact in the preseason. Will his knee hold up? Will he continue down the road less traveled? And will it make all the difference?
Bridgewater wasn’t worried about any of that on Tuesday.
“We’re focused on the now,” he said. “That time will come.”
When it does, you can bet that he’ll be ready to fight through it.