It was somewhat easy to see coming when he declared his intention to return to the NFL after he coached his high school alma mater to a state championship. But the Detroit Lions officially signed Teddy Bridgewater on Thursday, adding a veteran to their quarterback depth chart.
Before the team's official announcement, head coach Dan Campbell essentially confirmed the reported move was happening.
“I’ve been in contact with Teddy for a while,” Campbell said. “It was something that was always potentially a possibility. We all know what Teddy’s been doing down there, giving back to his community, and they won a championship down there. So his debut as coaching worked out pretty dang good."
Of course it instantly became worth wondering what Bridgewater's addition means for Hendon Hooker, who has been the No. 2 quarterback all season. Campbell addressed that head-on.
"It doesn’t mean we’re disappointed in Hooker. That’s not what this means,” Campbell said. “It just means this gives us somebody that’s played a lot in the NFL. We’re getting ready for the playoffs, so it’ll be good to get him back in the fold with us.”
“This does not mean that Hooker is out. That’s not what this means. If it comes to that, Hooker is going to play for us, but Teddy probably will, too,” Campbell said. “So, I understand what it looks like, but it’s just a different world that we’re getting ready to talk into, and we just felt like this is the right thing to do, especially with somebody that I have a tremendous amount of trust with and for."
As easily expected, quarterbacks coach Mark Brunell echoed Campbell's sentiment about Hooker.
#Lions QB Mark Brunell said Detroit would absolutely trust Hendon Hooker to appear in a playoff game if necessary.
— Nolan Bianchi (@nolanbianchi) December 26, 2024
Hendon Hooker is unphased by addition of Teddy Bridgewater
When Bridgewater was retiring to go into coaching, at the outset of last offseason Hooker said he was going to be going down to Florida to live with Bridgewater and workout as he moved toward being Jared Goff's primary backup.
With that in mind, it's no surprise Hooker is not concerned about the Lions adding Bridgewater at this late juncture of the season. He said he has continued to lean on Bridgewater as a mentor even though he was not with the team this season.
"I figured Teddy was going to come back here this season," Hooker said Thursday, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. "I didn't know when. I knew when his season was over he was going to come back. I mean, we’ve been talking about it since the summer."
"Throughout all my years of playing football, I've always been in a quarterback competition," Hooker said. "So it's just the nature of the business. Just bring your game."
Adding Bridgewater as veteran insurance in the quarterback room for the playoff push and Hooker's development being on a good track can (and should) exist in different lanes. Hooker wouldn't be expected to say anything but what he said, but he does seem to genuinely have Bridgewater being back in the right perspective.