Former Vikings QB Officially Signs with Detroit for 2023 Season
Josh Frey
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Teddy Bridgewater visited with the Detroit Lions back in July, and now, it appears that the former Vikings QB is set to join Detroit for the 2023 season.
The signing was initially reported by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, who tweeted, “The #Lions are signing QB Teddy Bridgewater after a recent visit to Detroit, sources tell me and @MikeGarafolo. A new backup QB.”
In the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft, Rick Spielman and the Minnesota Vikings decided that with the 32nd overall pick, they would make a move to bring a young QB onto their roster. That QB was, of course, Teddy Bridgewater.
Bridgewater took over the starting spot during his rookie season, and he quickly looked like a stud at the position. Then, in 2015, alongside the strength of Mike Zimmer’s defense, Minnesota won the NFC North with Bridgewater running the offense. The 11-5 Vikings lost in the Wild Card round to the Seattle Seahawks due to the infamous Blair Walsh kick, but things were looking positive for the young Viking.
Then, Bridgewater suffered his gruesome knee injury prior to the start of the regular season in 2016, Minnesota traded for Sam Bradford, and the 2014 first-round pick never started for the Vikings again.
Since his stint with the Vikings, Bridgewater has carved out a valuable role as one of the league’s better backup QBs. In 2018, he joined the New Orleans Saints as Drew Brees’ backup, and when Brees went down with a rib injury during 2019, Bridgewater led New Orleans to a 5-0 record in five starts, completing 67.9% of his passes for 1387 yards, 9 TDs, and 2 INTs during the year.
After spending some time in New Orleans, Bridgewater had stops in Carolina, Denver, and Miami. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to stick around at a single spot for very long. Detroit will be his sixth team in the NFL.
Now, Bridgewater joins the Lions to become Jared Goff’s backup for the season. This topic may come up again when Hendon Hooker is fully healthy (he began camp on the PUP list), but the former Vikings QB should be in the thick of a playoff run against his old team this season.
The Vikings will have to wait a long time before getting their first matchup against the Lions, with their first meeting not occurring until Week 16. They will also conclude the 2023 regular season by facing off in Week 18.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.