Detroit Lions Agree to Terms with Journeyman QB

Few players in the NFL exemplify the word “journeyman” more than Teddy Bridgewater. Bridgewater’s journey will continue thanks to the signing of his new contract. He agreed to a deal with the Detroit Lions to continue his long NFL career. Assuming he makes the 53-man roster in August, this will be his 12th NFL season, highlighting a career where he’s bounced around from team to team many times.

From Top Prospect to OPOY to Draft Stock Decline

To all the Gen Alphas reading this article, when you think of an elite quarterback for Louisville in the 2010s, you likely immediately think of Heisman winner and two-time NFL MVP Lamar Jackson. However, Bridgewater arguably had a greater career for the Cardinals, being the higher-recruited quarterback from the Atlantic Coast of Florida. Bridgewater is still the second-highest-recruited quarterback and seventh-highest-recruited player overall in Louisville history. After struggling to find offensive success following Brian Brohm’s final season in 2007, the Cardinals were happy to sign the dual-threat QB out of Miami Northwestern Senior High School. As a freshman, Bridgewater won the starting job after just three weeks, finishing his first collegiate season by going 5-5, including 5-2 in the conference, which led to them being Co-Big East Champions with West Virginia and Cincinnati. After winning the Big East Newcomer of the Year Award, Bridgewater stepped his game up to the next level as a sophomore, earning the final Big East Offensive Player of the Year Award since the conference rebranded as the American Athletic Conference in 2013. His draft stock was quickly rising; many way-too-early 2014 NFL Mock Draft articles projected him as the first-overall pick before a disastrous pro day made him fall down to the last pick of the first round, a $15.5 million difference in salary from top selection Jadeveon Clowney.

Things Never Quite Fell into Place in Minnesota

Bridgewater was eager to prove the doubters wrong with the Vikings, the team that traded up eight spots to select him in the first round. Before landing Bridgewater, Minnesota finished with the 14th-ranked offense in the league despite a carousel of quarterbacks that threw 18 touchdowns to 19 interceptions and combined for a 76 passer rating. Though the team finished with a better overall record with “Teddy Two Gloves,” the team had an absolutely abysmal supporting cast without Adrian Peterson. The offensive line ranked 25th in pass blocking and 21st overall, a drop of 15 spots from the previous season. The leading rusher was Matt Asiata, who averaged 3.5 yards per carry, and the leading pass-catcher was 31-year-old Greg Jennings in his second-to-last season in his career, posting 59 catches for 742 yards and six touchdowns. The next season proved what a revamped offense could do for the team’s success: led by a returning Peterson, who earned his fourth career First-Team All-Pro, a rookie Stefon Diggs, and a healthy Kyle Rudolph, as well as a stout offensive line, Minnesota won their first NFC North Divisional Championship since 2009. Though Bridgewater made his first and only Pro Bowl that season, he couldn’t propel the team past the Wild Card Round after a season where he compiled 3,423 total yards, 17 total TDs and 12 turnovers led to the inevitable when he struggled to move the ball against the Legion of Boom, losing 10-9 while completing six-of-nine passes on third down for 42 yards and getting sacked three times in the second half.

ACL Injury, Backup Journey, and Next Steps for Bridgewater

Unfortunately for Bridgewater, that ‘15 season would end up being the best of his career as he had an uncharacteristically severe ACL tear that doctors said would cause him to miss two full seasons. Miraculously, Bridgewater returned after 14 months, five months sooner than doctors initially predicted, but he still wasn’t 100 percent healthy, leading to the Vikings losing faith in him. The team declined his fifth-year option, leading to him testing free agency while still recovering from the knee injury. Bridgewater signed with the Jets on a one-year deal worth $6 million, five days after the Jets re-signed their 2017 starter, Josh McCown, to a $10 million contract. With both Bridgewater and McCown vying for a roster spot and rookie third-overall pick Sam Darnold in the mix, Bridgewater was traded to New Orleans, his third team in two seasons. The Saints would be Bridgewater’s last team that he would play for in consecutive seasons until he turned 31, signing a three-year, $63 million contract with the Panthers in 2020 before being traded to the Broncos and signing with the Dolphins, respectively. Bridgewater appeared to be forgoing his playing career and retiring after 2023 with the Lions, but reunited with Detroit a year after announcing his retirement. Last season, he signed with the Buccaneers after resigning as head coach for his high school, which leaves his story yet to be told with this new contract.