Four months after they made him an offer in free agency, the Detroit Lions hosted veteran quarterback Teddy Bridgewater on a visit Monday.
While no signing is imminent, Bridgewater, 30, is considered the top backup quarterback still on the market.
He has started 65 games for five teams in his nine-year NFL career and previously played for Lions coach Dan Campbell when Campbell was an assistant with the New Orleans Saints. In 2018-19, Bridgewater went 5-1 with the Saints, throwing for 1,502 yards with 10 touchdowns and three interceptions.
Bridgewater went 0-2 as a fill-in starter for the Miami Dolphins last season, when he dealt with elbow and finger injuries, and also has played for the Minnesota Vikings, Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos in his career.
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The Lions return Jared Goff as their unquestioned starter, re-signed Nate Sudfeld to a one-year deal in free agency and spent a third-round pick on Hendon Hooker in April’s draft, but Bridgewater has long made sense as a backup option for a Lions team expected to contend for the NFC title this year because of his experience and familiarity with the staff.
Lions general manager Brad Holmes said in March upgrading the backup spot was a priority for the Lions.
“I feel like last year we kind of left training camp kind of sliding into home plate trying to fill that backup quarterback role and that’s on me,” Holmes said at the NFL combine. “I’ve got to do a better job of making sure that we’re not in that position again, so that is something that we’re going to need to address. … That’s something that we’ve had a lot of conversations about, but I’ve got to do a better job of making sure we get that rectified.”
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Sudfeld signed with the Lions late last summer, after David Blough and Tim Boyle had disappointing training camps. He appeared in two games and did not attempt a pass last season.
Campbell expressed confidence in Sudfeld’s ability to back up Goff before practice Monday.
“Here’s what you want (in your backup),” Campbell said. “A guy (who) can go in there and at the very least, he’s going to get you in the right play. He can function, he’s not going to panic. Now, is everything going to be perfect? But you just want to know, hey, this isn’t going to be too big for him and he knows the playbook, he’ll get us in the right play and we’ve got to play a certain way and I do believe that with Nate. And I’m talking about, that’s the starting point. And now we get him another year here, we’re in camp, let’s see where he goes. I thought by the end of spring he was doing some really good things, so we’re excited to have him back.”
Hooker, one of college football’s top quarterbacks last fall, opened camp on the nonfootball injury list because of the torn ACL he suffered last Nov. 19 at Tennessee. He is not expected to be ready before the start of the regular season, but has thrown passes while working out with trainers after practice the past two days.
The Lions also have undrafted rookie Adrian Martinez on their roster as their No. 3 quarterback.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.