Ring Chasin': Teddy Bridgewater comes out of retirement for deserved shot at Super Bowl

With just two games remaining in the 2024 season, the Detroit Lions are clinging onto a slim lead for the NFC’s top playoff seed. 

The Lions have dominated their opponents with the best-scoring offensive in the league and an opportunistic defense. Detroit scored at least 42 points in five games, and they’ve held opponents to 14 or fewer points six times this season. Although they appeared to be nearly unstoppable early in the season, injuries have depleted Detroit's roster throughout the year.

The Lions have assembled a patchwork defensive line to account for the absence of some of their best defensive players, but the mounting losses have been too much to overcome. The Lions have surrendered over 300 total yards in three of their past four games, including a 48-42 loss in which the Buffalo Bills generated 559 total yards of offense. 

As the Lions gear up for a postseason run, they’re not willing to risk being unprepared for any injury that may arise at any position — including quarterback.

Teddy Bridgewater comes out of retirement for Lions postseason run

The Lions signed veteran quarterback Teddy Bridgewater on Thursday, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported.

Bridgewater was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft, but an impressive start to his career was derailed by a gruesome knee injury in training camp before the 2016 season. Bridgewater bounced around the league, ultimately playing for six different teams before announcing his retirement after the 2023 season. Now, the journeyman quarterback is returning to Detroit, where he spent the last year of his career as a backup quarterback.

Bridgewater spent his first season in retirement as the head coach of his alma mater, Miami Northwestern. He led the football program to a 12-2 record in his first coaching season, which ended with a state championship title on Saturday. Now, he’s hoping to find similar glory as a player — even if it comes as a backup to Lions quarterback Jared Goff.

As Detroit’s defense continues to deal with devastating injuries, the Lions have been forced to rely more heavily on their offense to carry them to victory. Bridgewater’s signing provides the team with insurance in case their poor injury luck begins to infect the offensive unit. Ultimately, the Lions will hope Bridgewater doesn’t have to play a meaningful snap this season.