He feels like a good fit, and the Detroit Lions reportedly have made a contract offer to Teddy Bridgewater.
At the outset of the offseason Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes publicly put priority on the No. 2 quarterback spot behind Jared Goff. Thus far, albeit with the draft still to come, Nate Sudfeld has been re-signed with seemingly little effort to add someone from the outside.
Not so fast, I guess. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler free agent quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has interest from several teams, including a “strong contract offer” from the Lions.
Bridgewater fits the profile of what offensive coordinator Ben Johnson professed as the most desirable traits in a backup quarterback. He has 65 NFL starts on his resume, with a 33-32 record (11-20 over the last three seasons with the Panthers, Broncos and Dolphins). He also has history with Dan Campbell when each were with the Saints, and the Lions head coach praised Bridgewater a couple years ago.
Dan Campbell on Teddy back in 2021:
— Ben Raven (@BenjaminSRaven) April 8, 2023
“I’ve got a lot of respect for Teddy Bridgewater because I think he’s a winner in this league. Man, he’ll hurt you in play action pass. He’s going to be smart with the football.” https://t.co/UWglErHWN0
Teddy Bridgewater may be waiting for a better offer than the Lions will give him
With the report of the contract offer from the Lions, and it’s apparently a strong offer that has been a standing offer for who knows how long, Fowler added that Bridgewater “hasn’t decided where he’s playing as he takes his time this offseason”.
Frankly, it’s now April 8 and Bridgewater may be left waiting to sign until after the draft. But apparently he’s good with that prospect.
In a broader sense, Bridgewater may be waiting for an opportunity to compete for a starting job somewhere. The Lions can’t, and won’t (shouldn’t), offer him that. The idea of him as this winning quarterback, which his truthers have and presumably will still lean into, has gone away as he has become a journeyman quarterback. Without the structure he had around him when was “the guy” in Minnesota and then in New Orleans when he filled in for Drew Brees, the Panthers (2020) and Broncos (2021) couldn’t wait to move on and try to upgrade.
Bridgewater probably now stands as the best backup quarterback option available. On that note, and to their credit in that sense, the Lions have made him a contract offer. But if he fancies himself as a starting quarterback, the Lions look like his fallback option.