Veteran QB Teddy Bridgewater stepping away from Lions, NFL
Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell said in a press conference on Sunday that veteran quarterback Teddy Bridgewater let the franchise know he would be stepping away from the team. The QB has already been placed on the reserve/retired list, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
Bridgewater had been in training camp with the Lions as the presumed backup to Jared Goff. With Detroit's only other quarterback at camp being Luke Altmyer, the team is expected to bring in more quarterbacks for workouts, hoping for a battle to determine Goff's backup for the upcoming season.
Bridgewater has been in the NFL since 2014. He played his college football at Louisville and was the 32nd overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings.
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The journeyman QB then began to bounce around the league. He has played for eight different teams over the last 12 years. Bridgewater landed with the Lions for the first time ahead of the 2023 season.
He spent one year with the franchise before initially announcing his retirement. The quarterback then returned to the NFL as Goff's backup in December 2024.
Bridgewater then signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season. He saw very limited action behind Baker Mayfield, throwing for just 62 yards on 15 pass attempts.
The quarterback was last a consistent starter in 2021 with the Denver Broncos. That year, he played in 14 games and tallied a 7-7 record. Bridgewater threw for 3,052 yards, 18 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. The 18 touchdown passes were the most in a single season for Bridgewater.
During his time away from the NFL between December 2023 and December 2024, Bridgewater became the head coach at Miami Northwestern High School, his alma mater.
In his first season, he and Miami Northwestern won the Class 3A state title. Bridgewater was then suspended for the 2025-2026 high school football season for providing "impermissible benefits" to his players. The former QB provided Uber rides, a preseason training camp, pre-game meals and post-game recovery services for the team, all paid for by Bridgewater.
His suspension was overturned, and the Florida State Senate then passed the "Teddy Bridgewater Act" in February 2026, which now allows head football coaches to spend up to $15,000 of their own money on their teams per year.
Bridgewater has not yet indicated whether he intends to return to coaching at Miami Northwestern.
