When the Detroit Lions lost Kyle Allen this offseason to the Buffalo Bills, they suddenly had an underrated hole to fill in free agency and through the draft: backup quarterback.
It might not be the sexiest position to see a positional battle for, but it's an extremely important one to square away with Jared Goff not getting any younger, and as the team is still working out the kinks with their newer offensive line.
So, the team brought in two quarterbacks to battle it out for the QB2 job, and they couldn't be more different, experience wise: Teddy Bridgewater returned to the team in free agency to compete for the job, while Detroit snagged Luke Altmyer on the UDFA market to be tossed into the fire, too.
Bridgewater and Altmyer haven't gotten a ton of buzz out of training camp so far, but Altmyer did seem to have a great day of camp on Thursday that should begin to push him to the forefront of the QB2 conversation.
Altmyer has best day of camp with Bridgewater sitting out
Team reporter Tim Twentyman made note of Altmyer's speed and accuracy with the Lions' second unit on Thursday, highlighting a touchdown-scoring drive from the rookie:
"Altmyer took advantage, making several good throws and consistently moving the second-team offense down the field. His best throw was a touchdown strike to second-year wide receiver Dominic Lovett down the right sideline on a perfectly thrown ball right in stride for Lovett."
It's a tough ask to expect Altmyer to be this sudden phenom when he couldn't even get a draft pick spent on him this past draft year, but he also didn't come into Lions training camp as this "build from the ground up" project. He did finish up his last year with Illinois with 22 touchdowns, 3,007 passing yards, and just five picks with a 67.4 percent completion rate.
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Rees Woodcock of Writing Illini shared his thoughts on Altmyer as a prospect during the NFL Draft, with the expert noting:
"If you would have asked me about Luke Altmyer's NFL chances a couple of years ago, I would have laughed. He was so bad with holding onto the football and decision-making. That has all changed the last two seasons. He took a huge step in 2024, and in 2025, Altmyer was a completely different passer. He made quick decisions and didn't hesitate. Altmyer can hit any pass on the field, too. He improved his out route throwing and speed on the football. I ended up loving Altmyer's abilty to throw up the seam and the deep ball up the sidelines. An underrated aspect of his game will be his legs. He is a runner masked as a pocket passer. Don't underestimate Altmyer's wheels."Rees Woodcock, Writing Illini
Bridgewater, at 33 years old, has the leg up on Altmyer with his 12 years of experience in the NFL and past work with the Lions when he played for them from 2023 to 2024 as a backup to Goff.
You like that kind of familiarity out of a backup, even though his age and injury history might give fans pause. Right now, he's the clear favorite to win that backup role again, but Altmyer cannot be written off if he continues to build upon these positive outings, and if he looks just as good in preseason bouts, if not better.
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