Nate Sudfeld lost his job with the San Francisco 49ers last summer when the team made a training camp tweak to its backup quarterback competition, reworking Jimmy Garoppolo’s contract to keep him and rookie Brock Purdy on the roster behind starter Trey Lance.
Sudfeld said this week he isn’t worried about history repeating itself with the Detroit Lions.
“If I’ve learned anything in this league, it’s nobody owes you anything,” Sudfeld said. “You can feel like you’ve earned or you can feel like you’re doing well, but that means absolutely nothing. None of it’s personal, everyone’s just trying to win, everyone’s just trying to do the best thing for the team.”
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The Lions hosted Teddy Bridgewater on a free agent visit this week and head coach Dan Campbell confirmed the team remains interested in adding him to the roster.
Bridgewater would back up starter Jared Goff if he signs. Sudfeld could stick on the roster as the No. 3 quarterback, but the Lions also have rookie third-round pick Hendon Hooker due back this fall from a torn ACL. Hooker is currently on the non-football injury list and not expected to play in training camp.
Campbell said the Lions have kept Sudfeld, signed last summer after his release from the 49ers, abreast of their interest in Bridgewater.
Sudfeld said he’s more worried about getting ready for the season than where things stand with his potential replacement.
“I know how it is when it’s Week 13, you have two losses in a row, things can feel really heavy outside, but if you keep your mind focused on what matters and what you can control, you’re always going to have a good chance but if you start feeling woe-is-me or frustrated about things, only person that’s going to hurt is yourself,” Sudfeld said. “And yeah, fortunate to be in the league and be in a lot of situations over my career that have really tested my character and helped me grow to where I’m just confident in who I am and confident in my ability as a player and just know all I need’s an opportunity to go do what I know I can do and just day by day.”
‘Long way to go’ for rookie Martin
Rookie third-round pick Brodric Martin has shown enough growth since spring that the Lions gave him some rotational reps with the first-team defense this week, but Campbell said the young defensive tackle is still working on playing with better pad level.
“He’s got to drop his pads,” Campbell said. “He plays too high right now, but you can see a guy who’s working through it. He’s working, his footwork’s getting better and this will be another level of growth for him (practicing in pads). You play high without pads, then you play high in pads, it’s going to be even worse. But he knows that and he’ll just — we just keep hitting him on it.”
Martin, one of the Lions’ tallest linemen at 6 feet 5 and 330 pounds, faced similar pad-level issues in college because of his size. He said he tends to play taller when he gets tired.
Martin has used his height to deflect several passes at the line of scrimmage in the first five practices and said he’s working on being more consistent with pads on a snap-by-snap basis.
“I’ve seen some growth from spring through the first four practices, but he’s raw,” Campbell said. “He’s got a long way to go.”
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.