A Motor City Welcome To Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, Will Serve As The Backup

By Jordan Long

The Detroit Lions take on the New York Giants on Friday for their first preseason game.  They are looking to improve on their 9-8 record.  The Lions decided they needed to add a veteran quarterback to back up Jared Goff.  They signed Teddy Bridgewater.

            Goff enters his 3^rd year with the Lions.  Last year Goff tossed for 4,438 yards and 29 touchdowns.  He rarely forced the ball into double coverage. Goff was picked off an impressively low 7 times.  It was still not enough to help the Lions get back to the playoffs.

            When training camp started, the Lions’ backups for Goff were Nate Sudfeld and Hendon Hooker.   Sudfeld had been in the NFL since 2016 spending time with Washington, Philadelphia, and San Francisco.  Sudfeld totaled 37 pass attempts while completing 25 for 188 yards and 1 touchdown.  Sudfeld had one interception. For Hooker, he is a rookie who the Lions drafted in the 3^rd round.  He will be learning how to read NFL defenses.  Those are not viable options if Goff goes down.

            The Lions agreed to a contract with Bridgewater. Bridgewater brings plenty of NFL experience to the Lions.  He has appeared in 78 games while starting 65 of them since he was drafted by Minnesota in the first-round of the 2014 NFL Draft.  His starting record stands at 33-32. Bridgewater has passed for 15,120 yards, 75 touchdowns, and 47 interceptions in his career.

            Last year, Bridgewater was the backup to Tua Tagovailoa in Miami.  He appeared in 5 games while starting 2.  The Dolphins went 0-2 with him as the starting quarterback. Bridgewater passed for 683 yards and had the same number of touchdown passes and interceptions at 4.  The Dolphins decided to let him go following the season.

            Bridgewater was waiting for an opportunity to play again.  He knew he wasn’t going to be a starter in this league.  Teams were interested in him as a backup but none had signed him.  The Lions finally did. 

            This is a great situation for Bridgewater.  Bridgewater knows he is on a team whose goal is to make the playoffs.  Bridgewater will serve as the backup to Goff.  If Goff goes down at least the Lions have a veteran quarterback who can lead their team.  For them, hopefully, Goff will last the season and all they will see is Bridgewater on the sidelines.