Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell confirmed on Thursday that veteran quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has ended his short retirement and agreed to rejoin the Detroit Lions.
The 32-year-old Bridgewater had teased his return to the NFL earlier this month, shortly after leading his alma mater Miami Northwestern to a state title in his first year as their high school football coach. Bridgewater revealed that he was actively pursuing a return to the NFL earlier this month, stating: “we’ll see how these next week-and-a-half, two weeks play out. Might be signing with a team or something and then returning back to coach high school football in February. So we’ll see. We wanted to win a state championship and then coach goes back to the league, see what happens and then come back in February in the offseason and continue coaching high school football. So we’ll see how it plays out.
Campbell said about Bridgewater’s return: “to be able to add somebody back here that’s got experience, he’s stayed in shape, he’s been throwing … it just brings a level of professionalism, veteran presence. Somebody that’s great for our team, great for the position … This gives us somebody that’s played a lot in the NFL.”
Campbell felt that Bridgewater returning was a great opportunity to get someone familiar with the team who has that veteran presence and experience, saying that the vet “brings a certain level of comfort” to the coaches and they have that trust in him, given their previous relationship: “It’s great for our team. I think everybody in that locker room respects Teddy and what he stands for, the type of human being he is, but also the type of player … When you get guys that you feel like make everybody around them a little bit better, it’s hard not to have those guys around, or add them if you can.”
Bridgewater, a 2014 first-round pick of the Vikings out of Louisville, also played for the Saints, Panthers, Broncos and Dolphins. He appeared in just one game for the Lions last season, but did not record a pass attempt. In his career, Bridgewater has a 33-32 starting record, while throwing for 15,120 yards, 75 touchdowns and 47 interceptions.
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