“Looking for That Ring”: NFL World Reacts as QB Teddy Bridgewater Unretires and Is Expected to Sign With the Lions

You’d be hard-pressed to find any NFL fan who doesn’t have a positive opinion of Teddy Bridgewater. He always did things the right way; he was capable on the field, and his injury record was about as unlucky—even tragic—as you’ll see. He retired in February of this year after 10 seasons in the NFL… but now, he’s back, and he’s only chasing one thing.

On Thursday, it was reported by NFL Network’s holy trinity of insiders—Mike Garafolo, Tom Pelissero, and Ian Rapoport—that Bridgewater would be coming out of retirement. They added that he is expected to sign a deal to rejoin the Detroit Lions, with whom he was employed for his supposed final campaign in 2023.

After announcing his (first) retirement, Bridgewater became the head coach for Miami Northwestern High School, his alma mater. In his first season at the helm this past fall, he led his lads to the Class 3A Florida state title. Now, Bridgewater is looking to grab another kind of championship.

The 13-2 Lions are going for broke this year. Even in the face of an avalanche of injuries, it’s clear that it’s Super Bowl or bust. They have the best offense in the league, and they have the belief to take them deep into the postseason for the second straight year. No doubt, Bridgewater, who has played in only one playoff game during his career, wanted to jump on that bandwagon.

But make no mistake, this move actually makes the Lions a better team. This is not a charitable handout for a beloved player around the league. This is a contending team nabbing themselves one of the best safety nets at QB you’ll find across the NFL.

Prior to Bridgewater’s signing, Hendon Hooker was the only QB on the roster behind starter Jared Goff. Hooker was a 25-year-old rookie last year, and he’s got just nine NFL passes to his name.

Now, they’ve got a proven entity behind Goff (given the deal goes through) who can step in and manage a game. When Bridgewater suffered the gruesome leg injury that nearly ended his career in 2016, he faced a brutal road to recovery. He was out for the entire 2016 and 2017 seasons. When he returned to the fold in 2018, he was forced to take a backup job with the New Orleans Saints.

However, he was a serviceable starter for two years with the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos, going 11-18 with very poor squads, before returning to a reserve role with the Miami Dolphins and Detroit in 2022 and 2023.

Fans are naturally split between celebrating the fact that Bridgewater can even return (and hoping that he can get a ring), and lambasting Teddy Two-Gloves for trying to get a “participation ring” as nothing but a backup.

Teddy Bridgewater went 33-32 as an NFL starter, throwing 75 TDs against 47 picks for a 90.5 passer rating that is a hair below the league’s 91.8 average this season. He even earned a Pro Bowl nod back in 2015. Starting QB insurance doesn’t get much better than Bridgewater. This is really a win-win—and a heartwarming one at that—for both the player and the team.