The son of Teddy Bridgewater Sr. and Rose Murphy, Bridgewater was born in Miami, Florida on November 10, 1992. He attended Miami Northwestern High School. In his sophomore year, he replaced Jacory Harris as starting quarterback and took over a team that had been named the 2007 national champions by USA Today. He completed 97 of 160 attempts (60.6 percent) for 1,560 yards over the season, throwing 16 touchdowns with three interceptions. He also carried 45 times for 211 yards (4.7 average) and two more scores. Northwestern finished the season 13–3, falling short to Seminole High School of Sanford 28–21 in the 6A state title game.

Regarded as a four-star recruit, Bridgewater was considered the sixth best dual-threat quarterback prospect in the nation by Rivals.com. He played in the 2011 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

As a freshman in 2011, Bridgewater entered the season as a backup to Will Stein but started the Cardinals’ fourth game of the season against Marshall and remained the starter the rest of the year. He finished the season completing 191 of 296 passes for 2,129 yards with 14 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. For his play, he was named the Big East Rookie of the Year and was named a freshman All-American by Rivals.com, Scout.com, CBS Sports, and Sporting News.

As a sophomore in 2012, Bridgewater started 11 of 12 regular season games. In his only non-starting action, coming off the bench while injured against Rutgers, he led his team to a win, a Big East title, and a berth to the BCS. He finished the regular season completing 267 of 387 passes for 3,452 yards with 25 touchdowns and just 7 interceptions. He finished 6th in the nation in completion percentage, 8th in yards per attempt, and 7th in passing efficiency. For his play, he was named the Big East Offensive Player of the Year.

As a junior in 2013, Bridgewater completed 303 of 427 passes for 3,970 yards with 31 touchdowns and four interceptions. In his final college game against the Miami Hurricanes in the 2013 Russell Athletic Bowl, he completed 35 of 42 passes for 447 yards three touchdowns and was named the game’s MVP.

As early as April 2013, Bridgewater was seen as one of the top prospects for the 2014 NFL Draft, alongside Jadeveon Clowney and Johnny Manziel. Reports said that, had he been eligible for the 2013 Draft, he most likely would have been the first quarterback taken. At one point, he was projected by many to be the first overall pick in the draft. On January 1, 2014, Bridgewater announced that he would forgo his final year of eligibility at Louisville.

Bridgewater entered the season as the second-string quarterback, behind veteran Matt Cassel but ahead of Christian Ponder. Bridgewater made his NFL debut on September 21, 2014, against the New Orleans Saints, entering in relief of the injured Cassel and finishing the game with 150 passing yards. He was named the starting quarterback for the remainder of the season after Cassel, who broke his foot in the aforementioned game, was placed on injured reserve.

On September 28, 2014, Bridgewater made his first NFL start against the Atlanta Falcons and won the game, in large part due to his 317 passing yards, and scored his first NFL touchdown on a 13-yard rush. After spraining his ankle during the Falcons matchup, Bridgewater was inactive for the next game against the Green Bay Packers on Thursday Night Football in Week 5. However, he was able to recover in time for the Week 6 game against the Detroit Lions. However, a weak offensive line against a strong Lions’ defense led to a 17–3 rout. Bridgewater was intercepted three times, two from tipped passes, and was sacked eight times. During Week 7 against the Buffalo Bills, Bridgewater threw his first NFL touchdown pass to Cordarrelle Patterson. Despite being sacked five times and throwing two interceptions, Bridgewater helped the Vikings get a 16–10 lead, but the effort was negated only by the Bills’ comeback win which put them up 17–16 with no time to retaliate. In the next game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Bridgewater threw for 241 yards and a touchdown and was sacked only once. He led a game-tying drive to force overtime, where fellow first-round pick Anthony Barr made a fumble recovery on the Bucs’ first overtime play, giving the Vikings a 19–13 win. His third win as a starter, a 29–26 comeback win over the Washington Redskins, broke a franchise record shared by Fran Tarkenton and Ponder for wins among starting rookie quarterbacks. Bridgewater added to this record with wins over the Carolina Panthers, New York Jets, and Chicago Bears in weeks 13, 14, and 17 respectively. The win over the Jets is notable for when wide receiver Jarius Wright turned a screen pass from Bridgewater into an 87-yard touchdown, giving the Vikings another overtime win.

Bridgewater is the youngest of four children. He is a Christian. He graduated from the University of Louisville with a degree in Sports Administration after the 2013 college football season. His mother, Rose, is a breast cancer survivor. In 2014, soon after her son was drafted by the Vikings, Cadillac presented a pink Escalade to Rose when they learned that Bridgewater had wanted to get her one since he was in the third grade.

Bridgewater finished his rookie year with 2,919 passing yards, 14 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and an 85.2 passer rating. He also rushed for 209 yards and a touchdown. He played in 13 games, starting 12 of them. On January 13, 2015, Bridgewater was selected as the quarterback of the 2014 NFL All-Rookie team by the Pro Football Writers of America, joining Tommy Kramer as the only Vikings quarterbacks to claim this award. Bridgewater also won the 2014 Pepsi Rookie of the Year award, as voted by fans.

On January 25, 2016, he was named to his first Pro Bowl.

During a team practice on August 30, 2016, Bridgewater suffered a non-contact injury to his left leg. A subsequent MRI confirmed that he tore his ACL and suffered other structural damage, including a dislocation of the knee joint. As a result, Bridgewater missed the rest of the 2016 season. After the loss of Bridgewater for at least the 2016 season, the Vikings traded a first-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft and a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft to the Philadelphia Eagles for quarterback Sam Bradford. In 2016, the Vikings went 8–8, finishing third in the NFC North and missing the playoffs, despite starting the season with a 5–0 record.

Originally, the media reported that Bridgewater’s injury would keep him out for 17–19 months, meaning he would miss the entire 2017 season. In January 2017, doctors confirmed that the healing would indeed take 19 months.

On May 1, 2017, the Vikings declined the fifth-year option on Bridgewater’s contract, making him a free agent after the 2017 season.

On March 18, 2018, Bridgewater signed a one-year contract with the New York Jets. The contract only guaranteed a $500,000 signing bonus, though he could make up to a maximum of $15 million from a non-guaranteed salary and incentives.

On August 29, 2018, the Jets traded Bridgewater and a 2019 sixth-round draft pick to the New Orleans Saints for a 2019 third-round draft pick.

On March 15, 2019, Bridgewater signed a one-year, $7.25 million fully guaranteed contract with the Saints. During Week 2, he replaced Drew Brees, who left with a right thumb injury, completing 17 of 30 passes for 165 yards in a 27–9 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Due to Brees’s injury, Bridgewater was named the starting quarterback for Week 3. In that game, Bridgewater completed 19 of 27 passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns as the Saints defeated the Seattle Seahawks on the road by a score of 33-27. This was the first game where Bridgewater threw for more than one touchdown in a game since week 15 of the 2015 season. In Week 5 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Bridgewater threw for 314 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception in the 31–24 win. In Week 6, against the Jacksonville Jaguars, he had 240 passing yards and one passing touchdown in the 13–6 victory. In Week 7, against the Chicago Bears, he had 281 passing yards and two passing touchdowns. Brees returned from his injury in Week 8 against the Arizona Cardinals.

On March 26, 2020, Bridgewater signed a three-year, $63 million contract with the Carolina Panthers.