Lions quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has been in the NFL for a decade and bounced around the league as a quality veteran influence, but his time in the league apparently is coming to an end. The 31-year-old told Dave Birkett of The Detroit Free Press he will retire at the end of the season.
Bridgewater was a first-round pick by the Vikings in the 2014 NFL draft out of Louisville and later suffered a gruesome leg injury in 2016 that altered the course of his career. He went from being Minnesota’s franchise quarterback to a journeyman, but he re-established himself with the Saints, going 5–0 in place of the injured Drew Brees in 2019.
In 2020 and ’21, Bridgewater became the starter for the Panthers and Broncos, respectively. He then joined the Dolphins last season as a backup. In addition to the 2016 leg injury, Bridgewater has battled a variety of injuries during his career.
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The veteran said he initially planned to retire before this season, but when Lions head coach Dan Campbell called about a potential backup job, he decided to come back for another season.
“I was really like content with being done,” Bridgewater told the Free Press. “And it wasn’t really like much that went into it. It was just I felt healthy, I could walk away on my own terms, and that was that. But when Dan, like we talked, and we talked, and we talked, and we talked, and it was like, ‘Man, all right, Dan, I got you.’”
Bridgewater intends to become a high school football coach after his playing career. The veteran seems content with where his career has taken him, despite so much adversity.
“Everything happens for a reason,” Bridgewater told the Free Press. “Injuries, highs, lows, the success, the failures. It all, it builds character, and that’s what it did for me. Like I never look like, ‘Oh man, what if?’ Nah. Whatever was meant for me, it played out the exact way it was meant. And I’m still with that mindset every day, and I’m just really appreciative that I’m in Year 10.”
If the Lions have the NFC North title locked up by Week 18, Detroit could start Bridgewater against Minnesota to end the regular season on Jan. 7, bringing his career full circle. Bridgewater has thrown for a total of 15,120 yards with 75 touchdowns and 47 interceptions in his career.
