Amid months of their lingering interest in him, which culminated in a deal early this past week, we knew how highly Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell thought of Teddy Bridgewater based their two seasons together with the New Orleans Saints. But if general manager Brad Holmes didn't feel the same, the move would not have been made.
The Lions put together an alternate broadcast for Friday night's preseason opener, via the team website and hosted by NFL Network's Peter Schrager. Holmes was among the guests, and Bridgewater was a natural topic.
Via Nolan Bianchi of The Detroit News, Holmes talked about the team's interest in Bridgewater early in free agency and the delay in signing him.
"And sometimes, man, it just takes you a little bit longer. It was one of those situations where we couldn’t get it done at the time.”
That feels like confirmation that the holdup in signing Bridgewater was not due to any hesitation from the Lions. It was fair to assert that Bridgewater was eyeing a chance to start or more money at various points since March, and the market did not offer those things to him.
Brad Holmes says he's been a Teddy Bridgewater fan all along
Holmes was the Rams Director of College Scouting in 2014, when Bridgewater was taken in the first round of the draft by the Minnesota Vikings. So his familiarity with Bridgewater goes back further than Campbell's, and during the alternate broadcast Friday night he spoke to that.
"I’ve always been a huge Bridgewater fan, ever since he came out of Louisville. … He wins, he’s efficient, he’s got good feet…and he throws a good ball,” “We wanted to bring some more competition with Nate Sudfeld and I think that will be a good battle throughout camp.”"Brad Holmes
Sudfeld's bad showing against the Giants aside, Holmes suggesting a genuine competition between he and Bridgewater for the No. 2 spot on the depth chart behind Jared Goff is...cute. And it's not happening. Bridgewater is the guy now.
Bridgewater certainly has his fans, who like to ignore his actual physical talent to praise him. But he is a definite upgrade over Sudfeld, who has notably not performed well since the Lions rekindled their interest in Bridgewater a few weeks ago.