Lions Signing QB Teddy Bridgewater
The Detroit Lions are signing quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to a contract agreement, according to multiple reports. Terms of the contract were not immediately available.
A nine-year veteran, Bridgewater visited the team's Allen Park facility earlier during training camp. There had been reported interest in the signal-caller from the Lions, dating back to the spring.
He joins a quarterback room that currently features starter Jared Goff and backups Nate Sudfeld, Hendon Hooker and Adrian Martinez.
Sudfeld is the team's incumbent backup. Throughout the offseason, Lions coaches have expressed confidence in the veteran.
“We like Nate though, and he really, just to be around him and watch him pick up the playbook, watch him on scout team last year," Campbell explained. "We never felt like, if we needed him, that it was going to be – here’s what you want to know, that a guy can go in there and at the very least, he’s going to get you in the right play. He can function, he’s not going to panic.
"Now, is everything going to be perfect right – but you just want to know hey, this isn’t going to be too big for him and he knows the playbook, he’ll get us in the right play and we’ve got to play a certain way. And, I do believe that with Nate. And, I’m talking about – that’s the starting point. And now, we get him another year here, we’re in camp, let’s see where he goes. I thought, by the end of spring, he was doing some really good things. So, we’re excited to have him back.”
Hooker is currently on the Non-Football Injury list, while he recovers from a torn ACL he suffered while playing collegiately at Tennessee.
Martinez is an undrafted free agent out of Kansas State.
The 30-year-old Bridgewater has played for five teams, beginning with four years with the Minnesota Vikings. He's also suited up for the New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos and Miami Dolphins.
His time with the Saints overlapped with Campbell's tenure as tight ends coach. The two spent the 2018 and 2019 campaigns together.
Bridgewater's thrown for 15,120 yards, 75 touchdowns and 47 interceptions. The Louisville product owns a 33-32 record across 65 NFL starts.