Bridgewater variations that create mystery about what to expect. Dolphins opine on Teddy

Lots of chatter on Teddy Bridgewater, who will start for the Dolphins at the Jets on Sunday, as Tua Tagovailoa heals from a concussion.

▪ The Dolphins have one of the NFL’s better backup quarterbacks in Bridgewater.

But like many backup quarterbacks — even the better ones — you can’t be quite sure what you’re going to get.

Bridgewater, who has gone 11-18 as a starter for Carolina and then Denver the past two years, has experienced dramatic variations in performance in several areas of playing the position.

He can be great at something one year, among the league’s worst the next. Or vice versa.

A couple examples: Last season, he was one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks when pressured by a heavy pass rush; he had seven touchdowns and one interception in that situation in 2021, and his 89.5 passer rating “under pressure” was second in the league behind only Joe Burrow. When he was blitzed, he had a 120.3 passer rating, behind only Matt Stafford, Russell Wilson and Burrow.

But in 2020, he was one of the league’s worst quarterbacks under pressure, with a 52.7 rating, one TD and seven interceptions — the exact opposite of his TD/INT numbers last year.

Then there’s the vertical passing game issue.

We saw Bridgewater complete a 64-yard pass to Tyreek Hill against the Bengals. But his deep passing numbers have varied wildly.

In 2020, he was fourth best in the league (minimum 20 throws) on passes thrown at least 20 air yards (45.5 percent/25 for 55).

Last season, he was among the worst in that area, completing just 16 of 52 (30.8 percent).

That 30.8 percent accuracy on 20-plus-air yard passes was among the worst among starters last season, better than only Trevor Lawrence, Ben Roethlisberger, Jared Goff and Sam Darnold.

Bottom line: In a few areas, the Dolphins cannot be sure what they’re going to get.

But they can take comfort in the fact that there are a lot of positives about Bridgewater:

1). Entering this season, his interception per pass percentage was 2.2, 19th best in NFL history .

2). He was 12th in the NFL in passer rating last season.

3). He did throw 33 TDs and 18 picks during the past two years as a Panthers/Broncos starter, despite the poor won/loss record.

4). He went 5-0 as a fill-in starter for the Saints in 2019.

5). And he entered this season fifth in NFL completion percentage among active quarterbacks at 66.5.

▪ Tyreek Hill, who had that 64-yard reception on a Bridgewater pass in the Bengals game, indicated they developed a good chemistry over the past few months.

“If you go back and watch the clips, me and Teddy have some little highlights in there on Dolphins Twitter,” Hill said. “I feel like he’s just a veteran guy — having that connection and being able to have some conversations about ball.

“Teddy understands my play style and I understand where he wants me to be at on the field. That’s how we connected deep down the field against the Bengals. Just me and him on the same page. Him telling me, ‘Hey ‘Reek, if we get a certain coverage, I need you on this side of the hash. I need you here.

“The offense is in great hands with Teddy.”

▪ Meanwhile, tight end Mike Gesicki said: “I like Teddy a lot. He’s an experienced guy and has been at a couple of different stops throughout this league. To just kind of be thrown in there is something that I think his career has prepared him for.

“He’s got a lot of experience, and I trust him back there a lot. I think he’s got everything it takes to continue to keep this thing rolling for us.”

▪ Bridgewater had two concussions while playing for Denver last season. He returned without missing a game after one in Week 4, but missed the remainder of the season after his Week 15 concussion.

“It comes with the game. Every time I hit the ground, I ask God, ‘Why am I doing this?’” Bridgewater told reporters at the end of last season. And then when I get up, when I come to work on a Wednesday and see the guys working hard, that’s why you do it, the interactions you have with the guys in the locker room, the smiles you get to put on the fans’ faces, the feeling of competing. That’s why you do this.”

The second concussion was the scarier one last season, when he was upended at the end of a scramble and landed awkwardly on his face mask and shoulder pads. He was hospitalized for a day.

Bridgewater has been beset by injuries in his career, including a significant knee injury that sidelined him more than a year.

“Yeah, that’s the nature of the business,” he said early in 2022. “I’m still gonna survive, man. No matter where or how it happens, I’ve just got to have that mindset always.”

▪ Before signing Reid Sinnett to their practice squad, the Dolphins also auditioned two other quarterbacks: Ben DiNucci, who made one start for the Cowboys last season, and Jake Fromm, who made two starts for the Giants in 2021.