Teddy Bridgewater has come out of retirement to sign with the Detroit Lions, just weeks after coaching his high school team to a state championship.
Lions coach Dan Campbell said Bridgewater’s return does not imply that the team is dissatisfied with current backup quarterback Hendon Hooker.
Bridgewater announced last week that he wants to return to the NFL after guiding his alma mater, Miami Northwestern Senior High School, to the Class 3A Florida High School Athletic Association state championship earlier this month.
My team understands that is the plan. We hoped to win a state championship, and then Coach would go back to the league, see what happened, and then return in February to continue coaching high school football. “We’ll see how it turns out,” he told NFL Network’s “The Insiders” last week.
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Bridgewater has received NFL coaching inquiries in recent weeks, but he prefers to try to win a championship as a player before considering such chancesLast season, Bridgewater, 32, served as the Lions’ backup quarterback to starter Jared Goff.
Campbell stated that he had been in contact with Bridgewater “for a while” and that re-signing him was always an option due to Bridgewater’s leadership and experience with the system. The Lions management has a great deal of faith in Bridgewater and has followed him throughout his high school coaching career this year.
“It just brings a level of professionalism, veteran presence, somebody that’s great for our team, he’s great for the position,” says Campbell.
“This does not imply that we are disappointed in Hooker. That is not what this means. It just means that we now have someone who has extensive NFL experience. We’re getting ready for the playoffs, so it’ll be great to have him back.”
Hooker has “improved,” according to Campbell, as the Lions continue to develop him. Hooker, the Lions’ highest-drafted quarterback since Matthew Stafford in 2009, has studied from Goff. Hooker was taken with the 68th overall pick in the third round of the 2023 NFL draft.
However, Campbell believes Bridgewater’s addition is “great” for the squad, not just on the field but also in practices, due to his nice nature and many years of expertise, which blend well with players.
“This does not imply that Hooker is out. That is not what this means. If it comes down to it, Hooker will play for us, but Teddy will most likely do as well,” Campbell added. “So, I understand what it looks like, but it’s just a different world that we’re getting ready to walk into, and we felt like this was the right thing to do.”
Bridgewater was hired by Miami Northwestern in February after retiring, with the goal of turning around a program that had finished 4-6 the previous season. Miami Northwestern finished 12-2 on the season and outscored its opponents 262-12 in five playoff games. It concluded the season with a ten-game winning streak.
Bridgewater, a first-round pick by the Minnesota Vikings in 2014, had his career nearly destroyed by a ruptured ACL and a dislocated knee sustained during training camp in 2016; he missed the entire season and the majority of 2017 before departing the Vikings. He played two seasons with the New Orleans Saints (2018-19), started 29 games for the Carolina Panthers (2020) and Denver Broncos (2021), and was Tua Tagovailoa’s backup with the Miami Dolphins in 2022, when he was again limited by injury. He then joined with the Lions for his last season and featured in one game, kneeling out in triumph.
About The Author
