Teddy Bridgewater is heading back to Detroit.
The veteran quarterback will come out of retirement and is expected to sign with the Detroit Lions. NFL Media reported Thursday. Bridgewater, 32, played for the Lions in 2023, serving as Jared Goff’s backup.
Bridgewater retired after his first stint with the Lions, opting to coach at his alma mater, Miami Northwestern High, for the 2024 season. After helping the school win the Florida Class 3A state title, Bridgewater expressed his desire to join a team for the homestretch of the season.
“Coach Teddy, hopefully, we’ll see how it plays out the next week and a half, two weeks, might be signing with a team or something,” Bridgewater said. told NFL Media on Dec. 17. “And then returning to coach high school football in February. So, we’ll see.
“That’s the plan,” the former quarterback said when asked if he was serious about a potential return. “My team knows that’s the plan. We wanted to win a state championship and then the coaches go back to the league, see what happens, and then come back in February in the offseason, continue coaching high school football. So we’ll see how that plays out.”
The Lions do not need a quarterback entering the final weeks of the regular season. Goff is healthy and has been one of the best passers in the game this season. However, if something happened to Goff, Hendon Hooker would be next. The second-year quarterback, taken by the Lions in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, has only recorded garbage time snaps in his young NFL career.
Bridgewater, meanwhile, would provide Detroit with an established option if something were to happen to Goff. The 10-year veteran has also had stops with the Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers. Denver Broncos and the Miami Dolphins. He has gone 33-32 as a starter in his career, but has not started a game since his stint with the Dolphins in 2022. He went 0-2 as a starter that year, with 683 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions over five games.
The Lions are 13-2 this season and can clinch the No. 1 seed in the NFC with a win over the San Francisco 49ers and a weekend loss to the Vikings.
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