Allen Park — The Detroit Lions’ interest in quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who came to town for a visit Monday, speaks to the franchise’s expectations heading into the 2023 season.
“We’re (in) year three and I think we’re in a much better position. You just want to know that you are in the best hands possible,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said while symbolically knocking on the wood lectern during his Tuesday morning media availability ahead of the team’s third training camp practice. “…It’s also the competition. It doesn’t mean that (backup) Nate (Sudfeld) is out of anything if we go this route and it works out. You’ll feel good about whoever comes out of the fire will be the right guy to help you along the way. But yeah, you don’t want the wheels to fall off.”
The Lions have kept close tabs on Bridgewater, a nine-year veteran, throughout the offseason. On Monday, the team brought the quarterback to the facility for a visit, giving him a chance to sit down with organizational leadership as the two sides weigh the merits of working together.
“We’ve kept in touch with Teddy and we’ve kept Nate abreast of that, too,” Campbell said. “We haven’t hidden anything (from him). So it went good. Gave us a chance to sit down with him face-to-face, particularly (offensive coordinator) Ben (Johnson), Bru (quaterback coach Mark Brunell) and (general manager) Brad (Holmes). It gets me face-to-face with him again. Then just the medical (evaluation). So it was good. It was a good visit. We’ll see where it goes.”
Campbell spent two years with Bridgewater (2018-19) in New Orleans and has spoke fondly of the quarterback in 2021 when the Lions played against him while he was with the Denver Broncos.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for Teddy Bridgewater because I think he’s a winner in this league,” Campbell said ahead of that matchup. “Man, he’ll hurt you in play action pass. He’s going to be smart with the football.”
Bridgewater, a first-round pick in 2014, began his career in Minnesota, spending four years with the Vikings before stops in New Orleans, Carolina, Denver and Miami. In eight seasons, he’s made 65 starts, completing 66.4% of his passes with 75 touchdowns and 47 interceptions. He missed the entire 2016 season after suffering a gruesome non-contact injury during an offseason practice that nearly ended his career.
Sudfeld is Detroit’s current backup behind starter Jared Goff. The team also added their backup of the future in April’s draft, selecting Hendon Hooker in the third round. He’s currently sidelined as he continues to rehab his way back from a torn ACL he suffered last year while at the University of Tennessee.
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers