Getty Teddy Bridgewater runs with the ball for Denver in 2021.
For the better part of a few months, the Detroit Lions’ plan at quarterback has felt very settled. Jared Goff would come back, the team would look to the draft to select a young player, and the team may elect to keep a free agent like Tim Boyle as backup.
What if there was a wrench thrown into that plan, though? Would the Lions elect to shake things up by bringing in a veteran quarterback in free agency to push Goff? Though it doesn’t seem exceptionally feasible, some folks simply can’t get this thought out of their minds as a new league year remains on the horizon.
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Recently, The Athletic and writer Sheil Kapadia previewed free agency for every team by picking out three fits. When it came to the Lions, there were a couple of unsurprising projections in the form of New Orleans safety Marcus Williams and linebacker Foyesade Oluokun. Each of those players would make sense. The Lions need help at safety that Williams could provide, and linebacker is a very sore spot on the roster. Oluokun has provided a stout 190 tackles, 5 interceptions and 5 sacks thus far in his career, and could only improve upon those numbers if given a major role in Detroit.
Where things got interesting, though, was when Kapadia added Teddy Bridgewater to the list. As he explained in the piece, “adding Bridgewater on a low-cost deal can give them another competent option” at the spot of quarterback while the team develops other young players on their roster.
It’s an interesting idea, but not one that is likely to be met with much merit once the actual signings start being made. The Lions seem to like Goff and know he offers them a chance at some consistency at the position. With this in mind, it feels more likely the Lions could hold on to a guy like Boyle and also draft a player they like for the changes needed at the position rather than spend on a player like Bridgewater.
Bridgewater would know key members of the Detroit staff in Dan Campbell and Aaron Glenn from New Orleans, but that’s about where the ties between the sides would end. The Lions don’t need someone to push Goff in spite of what some people think.
The only situation where this would make sense is if the Lions found a trade taker for Goff. At this point, though, it doesn’t appear as if the quarterback is on the block at all, which could make this projection far off base when all is said and done.
Bridgewater’s Stats & Highlights
If there’s an underrated veteran quarterback on the market this year, Bridgewater is it. He’s had some decent seasons in the league before, putting up 14,437 yards and 71 touchdowns. He started his career in Minnesota, then landed in New Orleans for two years before moving on to Carolina. Last season, Bridgewater played in Denver, where he put up 18 touchdowns as the team’s placeholder before landing Russell Wilson this offseason via trade. Here’s some of his highlights from last year:
Bridgewater is obviously a good stopgap option at 29 years old, and he’s been used as that in the past. The Lions might already have a better version of that kind of player in Goff, however, which would make Bridgewater’s inclusion on the team questionable at best for 2022.
Lions Offseason Quarterback Plan With Draft, Free Agency
Who could the Lions look at in the draft for quarterback? There are plenty of options for the team, and that’s especially true after the Lions watched the Senior Bowl last week. While at the game, the Lions saw the likes of Kenny Pickett, Sam Howell, Malik Willis, Matt Corral and Desmond Ridder excel. Any of those players could be early picks for the team, and while some make more sense than others, the Lions could conceivably roll the dice on one of these names if they are happy with how they can develop. The team could also decide to re-sign Boyle and roll with him as their main backup for 2022 and do exactly what they did last season.
Goff’s presence ends up helping the Lions in a big way. The team can select a quarterback if they find one they like and believe in, but they don’t have to make a sudden move whatsoever and take a player they aren’t sure about for the future. They also don’t have to go out and sign a player who has bounced around a lot in free agency recently.
Bridgewater may look like a fit to some, but it’s probably not worth predicting the signing to happen when all is said and done. Detroit’s needs lie elsewhere.
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