A familiar face is coming back to Motown. According to Ian Rapoport, Tom Pelissero and Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, the Detroit Lions are re-signing quarterback Teddy Bridgewater as he comes out of retirement.
NFL reporter Josina Anderson has added Bridgewater is expected to sign with the Lions "tonight" (Thursday night).
Last week, after leading his high school alma mater (Miami Northwestern) to a state title in his first season as head coach, Teddy Bridgewater appeared on NFL Network and revealed his plan to return to the NFL as a player. He played coy when Pelissero asked if he'd been with any particular team.
"That's the plan," Bridgewater said on the Dec. 17 edition of The Insiders. "My team knows that's the plan. We wanted to win a state championship and then coach goes back to the league, see what happens, and then come back February in the offseason, continue coaching high school football. We'll see how it plays out."
Bridgewater spent last season with the Lions as Jared Goff's backup, appearing in one game. His publicly professed desire to resume his playing career got Lions' fans thinking he might be coming back to the team. Wide receiver Jameson Williams and quarterback Hendon Hooker both noted how Bridgewater has been a mentor.
Lions to bring back Teddy Bridgewater for playoff push
Hooker is currently No. 2 on the Lions' quarterback depth chart behind Goff, and Jake Fromm is on the practice squad. So the room could use a dose of veteran experience, and with 10 seasons under his belt Bridgewater fits that bill.
During his press conference on Thursday, Lions' head coach Dan Campbell basically confirmed the team is signing Bridgewater, noting his "professionalism and veteran presence" while making sure to say the move doesn't mean they're disappointed in Hooker.
Bridgewater's experience as the playoffs loom is notable, and noted by Campbell, along with having a fallback if something were to happen and Bridgewater might be needed to play.
Coach Campbell on Teddy Bridgewater pic.twitter.com/UEDA77T35q
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) December 26, 2024
The Lions have some injured players moving toward coming off IR, so there seems to be a crunch for roster spots looming. Signing Bridgewater basically commits to having three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster, which they haven't done all season. Unless he's willing to be on the practice squad, which is possible.
Every praise of Bridgewater going back to when his NFL career started has been laced with praise for his intangibles more than his quarterback skills. Which isn't to say those intangibles won't have value for the Lions as they head toward the playoffs, and hope to have another deep postseason run.
But Bridgewater only has one more playoff start in his career than Hooker does, as a rookie in 2015, and he hasn't played in a playoff game otherwise or since. Let's not overrate standing on the sideline in a "playoff atmosphere", as if it's something meaningful.
So the experience edge Bridgewater has over Hooker is rooted in locker room presence over actual postseason playing experience. If the Lions are willing to fill a spot on the active roster with intangible value over actual potential on-field contribution, barring what would practically be a doomsday scenario, then so be it. Or maybe Campbell and the coaching staff actually doesn't have that much faith in Hooker right now.