After months of mutual interest, the Lions and Teddy Bridgewater have made it official. The veteran quarterback is signing with Detroit, according to NFL Network.
Bridgewater will fill a big need for the Lions, the NFC North favorites who were in search of a better backup in the event of an injury to Jared Goff. They were prepared to enter the season with Nate Sudfeld, who's never started an NFL game and hasn't thrown an NFL pass in three years. Bridgewater has started 65 career games -- with a record of 33-32.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for Teddy Bridgewater because I think he’s a winner in this league," Dan Campbell said in 2021 before the Lions played against Bridgewater when he was quarterback of the Broncos. Bridgewater would go on to complete 18 of 25 passes and throw two touchdowns in Denver's 38-10 win.
Campbell and Bridgewater first intersected for two seasons in New Orleans, including in 2019 when Bridgewater went 5-0 for the Saints in the absence of Drew Brees.
The eight-year vet will also be a good mentor for Hendon Hooker, the rookie quarterback who will redshirt his first season with the Lions as he recovers from a torn ACL. Bridgewater was coming off a Pro Bowl season with the Vikings when he suffered the same injury in 2016. It changed the trajectory of his career, but seven years later he's still going.
Bridgewater spent last season with the Dolphins, appearing in five games and throwing four touchdowns and four picks. He played in 38 games the three seasons before that with the Broncos, Panthers and Saints, posting 42 touchdowns, 20 picks and a passer rating of 94.4. His career rating is 90.5.
The Lions and Bridgewater were first connected back in April when the club reportedly made him a "strong contract offer." At the time, Bridgewater was said to be weighing interest from several teams. The Lions brought him in for a free agent visit last month, and now they're adding him to the roster.
“We’re in year three and I think we’re in a much better position and you want to know that you're in the best hands possible," Campbell said last month of the Lions' interest in Bridgewater. "I’ll leave it at that. It doesn’t mean that Nate’s out of anything if we go this route, if it works out. You’ll feel good about whoever comes out of the fire, but yeah, you don’t want the wheels to fall off.”
Listen live to 97.1 The Ticket via:
Audacy App | Online Stream | Smart Speaker