Detroit Lions mailbag: Is Teddy Bridgewater still a possibility?
Welcome back to another round of our weekly Detroit Lions mailbag. We asked Lions fans on Twitter to send all their Lions questions, and some other stuff they wanted to ask about, to @AtoZ_Payton and we'd get them answered. We got a bunch of good questions again this week. There's some injury concerns, some backup […]
Welcome back to another round of our weekly Detroit Lions mailbag. We asked Lions fans on Twitter to send all their Lions questions, and some other stuff they wanted to ask about, to @AtoZ_Payton and we'd get them answered.
We got a bunch of good questions again this week. There's some injury concerns, some backup quarterback stuff, some more WWE stuff and some other stuff.
Let's jump right into it.
The rumor was real. The Lions did offer Teddy Bridgewater a "strong contract" back in April before the draft. That was the last we heard of it. Typically the higher end backup quarterbacks will wait till damn near the last minute to sign somewhere. They're trying to optimize their chances at finding playing time.
With that said, I don't think Bridgewater ultimately winds up in Detroit. The Lions decided to draft Hendon Hooker later in the month and there's a chance he could return from injury at some point during the year. I don't know if that puts him on the active roster at any point, but you never know. Plus Nate Sudfeld has reportedly looked decent at OTA's and mini camp. The Lions seem to have their guys at backup quarterback.
That's an interesting one. I don't expect to see a bunch of change in the lineup as the year goes by. I do expect one player to possibly find his way into the starting lineup at some point though. I think Jerry Jacobs will eventually overtake the CB2 role from Emmanuel Moseley. Here's how it should all lay out.
| Position | Starter | Backup | Backup |
|---|---|---|---|
LCB | Jerry Jacobs | Emmanuel Moseley | Starling Thomas |
SS | Kerby Joseph | Savion Smith | |
FS | Tracy Walker | Brandon Joseph | Ifeatu Melifonwu |
RCB | Cameron Sutton | Will Harris | Chase Lucas |
NB | C.J. Gardner-Johnson | Brian Branch |
Obviously a lot of things can change with this between now and the end of camp. I see a world where both UDFA's Starling Thomas and Brandon Joseph can make the 53 man roster. That world might not exist at the end of August.
In my opinion, I think Mohamed Ibrahim should be included in the lock category. I really think the Lions are going to love what they see in him during camp and will utilize him during the season. That leaves Craig Reynolds and Jermar Jefferson.
The Lions should probably carry four running backs again in 2023, so one of these guys can still make it. Right now, Craig Reynolds has the nose in terms of play. But Jefferson is cheaper and younger. My guess right now is that Reynolds is either traded for a low round pick before cutdowns, or he will be let go by the Lions. I just feel like Reynolds is going to have so much in front of him and the best thing for him would be to play on another team where he can get more reps.
This is a good question. One thing about me is that I have two weaknesses when it comes to covering football. I suck at defensive formations and I suck at contract stuff. I can figure out the rudimentary aspects of it, but this one is anything but rudimentary. Luckily I got a guy for all this. I went to my friend, and former running mate at Pride of Detroit, Erik Schlitt about it. Here's his answer:
"Basically, his contract is adjusted and the Lions don’t have to pay him a portion of his original contract — basically, 6 game checks. It’s not a ton, like $600,000 or a bit more if I remember correctly."
At this point we're still waiting to see where things are going with Levi Onwuzurike. The very latest was that they were hoping to get him back at full health by training camp. He did do some stuff during OTA's, but not much. I have spoken in the past about how I don't believe we'll ever see Onwuzurike play for the Lions again. I hope to be wrong about that because I'd love to see this kid thrive and do what he wants for a living, I just don't know if his body will allow him to.
I have some fears about this PLE. The biggest one is that the WWE does something stupid like have Logan Paul win the Money in the Bank match. I just don't see why you would ever do that. Is he a great talent? Yes. Can he really wrestle? Yes. But he's still a celebrity at the end of the day. Celebrities should not be winning world titles.
At the end of the day, my hope and my predictions are that Ricochet wins the men's Money in the Bank and Zelina Vega wins the women's. They have a real opportunity to create two big stars here. Judging by the amount that both have been on TV in the last few weeks, I'd say it's pretty possible they go this route.
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