Allen Park — The Teddy Bridgewater signing still isn’t official, and the expectation is he won’t take the field until next week, after the Detroit Lions’ first preseason game, but the intent of adding the quarterback was made crystal clear by coach Dan Campbell on Tuesday morning.
To summarize, the Lions believe in what they’ve built. They believe they’re ready to contend. And while starting quarterback Jared Goff has been remarkably durable throughout his career, no one wants to take any chances. The Lions want a backup who can keep things afloat if called upon, and the feeling is Bridgewater can do that as well as anyone.
For Campbell, that perception is based on experience.
“I was with him,” Campbell said, referencing overlapping with Bridgewater in New Orleans in 2018 and 2019. “When you’re with somebody for two years, you get a really good feel for what they’re capable of and the way they’re wired, the way he thinks. I’ve seen him work. I’ve seen him run the offense, I’ve seen him in critical moments, I’ve seen him develop young talent, young receivers. We lost (Drew) Brees and he goes 5-0. He just went in there and kept the ship afloat. He just kept it heading right where we needed it and that means a lot to me. That’s all we need. To me, that’s one of the reasons I wanted him here.
“…Teddy has skins on the wall. He’s done it, he’s been in it and we just need to see if he’s still got it.”
That’s the key right there. When Brees went down in 2019, Bridgewater stepped in and completed nearly 68% of this passes with nine touchdowns to just two interceptions, leading the Saints to five consecutive wins and helping them earn the NFC South title that year.
That ability to step in and not miss a beat echoes comments made by offensive coordinator Ben Johnson at the scouting combine this offseason, when he was asked what he desires in a backup quarterback.
“My personal philosophy has been, give us the best guy that can win a game for us,” Johnson said. “And so when I look at a backup quarterback, the two areas I start with are third down and two-minute (drill), because that’s where they really have the most impact.”
Maybe it’s a coincidence the Lions finally came to terms when they did with Bridgewater, after months of flirtation, but Nate Sudfeld had clearly struggled in the team’s previous practice, particularly in an end-of-game scenario, when he was intercepted twice.
Beyond the ability to keep a team afloat in the face of an injury to the starting quarterback, Campbell raved about Bridgewater’s ability to help develop younger players on the roster, particularly receivers. The coach said Bridgewater would regularly take extra time to meet with all the receivers the day before games, working through the entire game plan, including coverages and how he wanted to see them run their routes.
Of course, with being a late addition, Bridgewater will have some catching up to do, both learning a new offense and forging bonds with his new teammates. With the former, Campbell doesn’t anticipate it will be long before the veteran QB is up to speed.
“The bad news is it will be new terminology for him,” Campbell said. “So it will take a minute just to get up to what we’re saying. The good news is Teddy has been in every system you can imagine. He’s been through probably, I don’t know, six different verbiages, offenses. He’ll know the concepts, it’s just a matter of you’re calling this, you’re calling it this, you’re able to do this. That will take a little bit. But listen, Teddy is a pro. He’s going to study the heck out of it. He’s going to pick it up pretty fast, so I’m not concerned.”
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers