However, the NFL may still call Bridgewater, who stated last week that he is ready to make a comeback. The 32-year-old took to social media to announce his intentions, stating that he is willing to evaluate open roles once his high school season ends.
“After we win the state championship, there will be a plethora of quarterback opportunities for me. “I can’t wait to return to the NFL,” Bridgewater wrote on X.
Teddy Bridgewater is ready to return.
Bridgewater saw no action for the Lions in his last NFL season in 2023, instead following veteran Jared Goff and guiding youngster Hendon Hooker as he recovered from a damaged ACL.
Bridgewater’s final season as a full-time starter came in 2021, when he started 14 games for the Denver Broncos, completing 66.9% of his passes for 3,052 yards, 18 touchdowns, and seven interceptions.
Bridgewater played for six NFL clubs throughout his nine-year career, totaling 15,120 yards, 75 touchdowns, and 47 interceptions.
Veteran Returns for One More Season in Detroit
Bridgewater announced his retirement in December 2023, informing Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press that he would have retired before the season if not for Lions head coach Dan Campbell. The two worked together on the New Orleans Saints in 2018 and 2019, when Bridgewater was a backup and Campbell was the associate head coach and tight ends coach, and have maintained a friendship in the years after.
Bridgewater said Campbell approached him with the idea of signing with Detroit to act as a mentor for two of the team’s young players, Hooker and wide receiver Jameson Williams.
“He was like, ‘Man, I’m telling you, man, you’ll make a huge impact in Hendon and Jamo’s life just being here,” Bridgewater told me.
“Yes, Dan, but I’ll also come here for those two guys. So I’m close to Hard Time (Alexander), but I always tell Hendon and Jamo that you’re the reason I signed here.
Bridgewater said Campbell eventually persuaded him to return for one more season.
“I was really like content with being done,” Bridgewater explained. “And there wasn’t much to it; I just felt healthy, and I could leave on my own terms, so that was that. But when Dan came, we spoke and talked and talked, and it was like, ‘Man, all right, Dan, I got you.'”
The tutoring was mainly successful, with both Hooker and Williams showing improvement on the field. According to Jeff Risdon of USA Today, the Lions may consider bringing Bridgewater back in another mentoring position.
“The Lions are very happy with Hendon Hooker’s progress as the No. 2 quarterback behind MVP candidate Jared Goff,” Risdon wrote in an email. “But if the team is looking for a veteran to mentor Hooker and hold a clipboard in 2025, perhaps Bridgewater would consider a return?”
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