Adding Bridgewater would say a lot about the Lions immediate plans
The legendary Public Enemy once said "Don't believe the hype." Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell has been saying a similar thing in recent weeks. While believing too much into the hype can hurt you, it's ok to believe in in at times. Really it's showing that you have belief in yourself. The Lions are […]
The legendary Public Enemy once said "Don't believe the hype." Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell has been saying a similar thing in recent weeks. While believing too much into the hype can hurt you, it's ok to believe in in at times. Really it's showing that you have belief in yourself.
The Lions are showed me this week that they do indeed believe in themselves. It wasn't something cool they did at camp. It wasn't some big name player they signed. No, it's was working out a backup quarterback.
Not just any backup quarterback, possibly the best backup quarterback. Teddy Bridgewater is a premium backup quarterback. He's the guy that you just bring in in case you need someone to take a knee in a blowout win. He can do that, but he's so much more than that. Bridgewater is a guy you bring in if you want to keep winning in the horrible case that you lose your starter.
That's it right there. That's the thing that convinced me. The Lions could have simply stuck with Nate Sudfeld and waited till next year to put Hendon Hooker in that number two spot, but they didn't. They instead appear to be opting for an insurance policy. This team wants to make a run and believes that they can, in fact, make that run. That's why they're ok with possibly paying more than the average team would for a backup quarterback in case things go wrong with Goff.
Doing the opposite would say to me that this team isn't quite ready and they're ok with shutting down big aspirations for one more year and taking the higher draft pick.
Not only would they have a big upgrade at backup quarterback that says they're ready to try to contend, but they'd have yet another good voice in the room to help Hooker find his footing and get ready for a shot whatever his career ceiling might be.
Bridgewater and the Lions have been circling each other for a while now. The Lions reportedly offered a substantial deal to him back in April before the draft, but nothing had come of that and the Lions drafted Hendon Hooker in the third round at the end of the month. Now Bridgewater has visited with the Lions and the two parties are that much closer to making a deal. We'll soon see if that deal winds up getting inked.
Bridgewater has connection's with the Lions coaching staff too. He was the Saints backup and starting quarterback when both Dan Campbell and Aaron Glenn were on the Sean Payton's staff in New Orleans.
It should be interesting to see where this all goes. We'll have updates on the story as things develop. This is a big move for the Lions though. Even if it doesn't seem like it.
Featured image by Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
