The Detroit Lions are on the lookout for a new veteran backup in their quarterback room after placing Teddy Bridgewater on the Reserve/Retired list.
"Bridgewater is going to step away," Lions head coach Dan Campbell announced Sunday before the team's training camp practice at the Meijer Performance Center. "I've known (Bridgewater) a long time, and man, the human being is unbelievable.
"Certainly, the player, everything he's about, the kind of teammate he is and the way he prepares. Always played the game up here (pointing to his head) and had a huge heart. He's going to be missed."
Bridgewater, 33, had three different stints with the Lions starting in 2023 as quarterback Jared Goff's primary backup. He re-signed during the playoffs in 2024, and then most recently this offseason and training camp. Bridgewater has played in 83 career games with 65 starts, owning a 33-32 career record as a starter. He has a career 66.3 completion percentage with 75 touchdowns and 47 interceptions.
He came back from a devastating knee injury in Minnesota to have a productive 11-year career.
"I'll never forgot 2019 (in New Orleans) when Drew (Brees) got injured we had just gone out to the Rams and got beat out there and (Brees) got his thumb (hurt) and we lost him for five weeks and (Bridgewater) stepped in and won five in a row," Campbell said. "That was (Bridgewater)."
Campbell said the team plans on signing a veteran quarterback to compete with undrafted rookie Luke Altmyer, who has been taking the second-team reps behind Goff the last couple practices.
Altmyer started the last three years at Illinois, completing better than 60 percent of his passes all three seasons with 57 touchdowns and 21 interceptions.
"We're going to add somebody," Campbell said. "We like (Altmyer). (He) is growing ... getting better. He just needs reps. He needs a million reps, but the reps that he has gotten at this point he has improved and so we like him. But we are going to add someone. We'd like to add a veteran quarterback. We're hoping something happens (Monday). That's the plan."
The Lions play their first preseason contest Thursday in Cincinnati and Altmyer is expected to see a ton of reps with Goff and most of the starters not expected to play. Campbell hopes Detroit can get the new veteran up to speed quick enough to take some reps as well.
