Teddy Bridgewater among 2023 inductees for Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame

Free agent quarterback Teddy Bridgewater will play for his next NFL team as a Hall of Famer.

The former University of Louisville star was among six players or coaches with Bluegrass State ties announced as part of the 2023 Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame class. The Kentucky Hall of Fame was founded in 2002 to honor NFL players and coaches who were either born in the state or played or coached for one of the state’s college football teams.

The 2012 Big East Offensive Player of the Year, Bridgewater threw for 9,817 yards with 72 touchdowns and 24 interceptions across three seasons at Louisville. The Minnesota Vikings selected him with a first-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. Bridgewater was named to the Pro Bowl in 2015, but a major injury suffered in practice in 2016 derailed his career. Bridgewater appeared in just 15 games across the next four years. Bridgewater bounced back to start for the Panthers in 2020 and Broncos in 2021. He spent last season as the backup for the Miami Dolphins.

Joining Bridgewater in the 2023 Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame class are former UK defensive lineman Frank Fuller, longtime NFL offensive line coach and Western Kentucky University alumnus Joe Bugel, former Dupont Manual High School offensive lineman Stephen Wright, Harlan native and former Eastern Kentucky University wide receiver Larry Kirksey and former Highlands High School safety Mike Mitchell. Fuller and Bugel will be inducted posthumously.

The 2023 class will be inducted into the Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Lexington on June 23. That weekend the Hall of Fame will also honor coaches Mike Tomlin, Todd Bowles and Lovie Smith with the Blanton Collier Award, which has been awarded since 2007 to someone associated with the NFL to recognize their integrity on and off the field.

Teddy Bridgewater

In eight NFL seasons, Bridgewater has thrown for 15,120 yards with 75 touchdowns and 47 interceptions. He was named to the 2015 Pro Bowl after leading the Vikings to an 11-5 regular-season record. Bridgewater has played for a different team in each of the last four seasons and is currently a free agent. Last season, he threw for 683 yards with four touchdowns and four interceptions in five games for the Dolphins.

Joe Bugel

After playing at Western Kentucky, Bugel started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at his alma mater in 1964. He made stops as a college coach at Navy, Iowa State and Ohio State before jumping to the NFL with the Detroit Lions in 1975. Bugel then coached in Detroit, Houston, Washington, Phoenix, Oakland and San Diego. Bugel was the head coach with Phoenix from 1990 to 1993 and Oakland in 1997, compiling a career 24-56 record. As an offensive line coach, he helped lead the group of Washington linemen dubbed the “Hogs” that helped pave the way for three Super Bowl wins.

Frank Fuller

A 26th-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Rams out of UK in 1952, Fuller spent nine seasons in the NFL with Los Angeles, Chicago, St. Louis and Philadelphia. He was named to the 1959 Pro Bowl. That same season for the Chicago Cardinals, Fuller was named second-team All-Pro by The Associated Press.

Larry Kirksey

After finishing his playing career at Eastern Kentucky, Kirksey started a coaching career that has spanned six decades in 1974 at Miami (Ohio). He coached wide receivers and tight ends at UK from 1977 to 1981 and spent one season as head coach at Kentucky State in 1983. Kirksey made the jump to the NFL in 1994 as wide receivers coach for the San Francisco 49ers. He has also made NFL coaching stops in Detroit, Jacksonville, Denver and Houston. Kirksey is currently the running backs coach for the Birmingham Stallions of the USFL.

Mike Mitchell

After graduating from Highlands High School, Mitchell played college football at Ohio. The Oakland Raiders drafted him in the second round in 2009. Across 10 seasons with Oakland, Carolina, Pittsburgh and Indianapolis, Mitchell totaled 514 tackles with 11 interceptions. He started every game in three consecutive seasons for Pittsburgh from 2014 to 2016.

Stephen Wright

Wright played for two of the most legendary football coaches in history, first for Paul “Bear” Bryant at Alabama and then for Vince Lombardi with Green Bay. Despite never starting a game for Alabama, he was drafted in the eighth round. He continued his steady work as a backup offensive lineman with 101 appearances off the bench across nine NFL seasons with Green Bay, New York, Washington, Chicago and St. Louis. Wright won three NFL championships and two Super Bowls.