Dolphins Free Agency 2023: Walk, tag, or re-sign quarterback Teddy Bridgewater

The NFL calendar is marching toward the start of the 2023 free agency period, with the official start coming at 4 p.m. ET on March 15. Teams all around the league, including the Miami Dolphins, are trying to work their way through the decision making process for re-signing, tagging, or allowing the player to leave in free agency. Here on The Phinsider, we are working our way through the list of Dolphins players headed toward free agency, trying to decide what we think the team should do for each of the players.

Quarterback is a key discussion point for the Dolphins this offseason, especially after the multiple concussions that sidelined starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa throughout the season. While there will be plenty of analysts who are trying to decide if Miami should stick with Tagovailoa, the backup quarterback discussion may be the more interesting piece this offseason. Tagovailoa is set to be the team’s starter, but who will back him up? Will the team go with a younger quarterback to develop behind Tagovailoa? Will they look to add a new veteran who can step in and start in the case of an injury to Tagovailoa? And, where does current backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who is scheduled to be a free agent, fit into the puzzle?

Should Miami try to re-sign Bridgewater? Should they allow him to leave in free agency? Today’s walk, tag, or re-sign closer look tries to answer those questions.

Background

Position: Quarternack

Age (at the start of the 2023 season): 30

College: Louisville

NFL experience: 9 years

Expiring contract: 1-year, $6.5 million

2022 Review

Bridgewater started the season as the team’s backup behind Tagovailoa, but was thrust into five games, with two starts, as injuries mounted. Like Tagovailoa, Bridgewater landed in the NFL’s concussion protocol during the season, though it never appeared to be an actual injury, rather a reaction from the league to the injury to Tagovailoa the prior week. He then sustained a broken finger late in the year that forced him to miss playing time and leading to multiple starts for rookie Skylar Thompson. Bridgewater, when he did play, seemed solid, but the offense was clearly not to his strength and they never fulled seemed in rhythm with him at the helm.

2022 stats: 5 games played, 2 starts, 62.0% completion, 683 yards, 4 touchdowns, 4 interceptions, 85.6 rate

2023 Outlook

Bridgewater is clearly a backup quarterback at this point and is not likely to find a full-fledged starting position for 2023. He still has the ability to serve as a backup who can come in and serve as a stop-gap, but the Miami offense’s struggles to find a rhythm under his control is worrisome when thinking of him as a long-term option for the position.

Walk, Tag, Re-Sign?

Franchise tag number: $32.4 millions

The Dolphins need a backup quarterback, but it does not feel like Bridgewater is going to be that guy this year. There are enough question marks around Tagovailoa that the team has to think in terms of a veteran backup - likely keeping Thompson as the third-string option again for 2023 - but Bridgewater’s 2022 makes it seem like Miami needs to look somewhere else for 2023.

Verdict: Walk.