While it has been hard to pin down exactly what the Detroit Lions are going to do with their first pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, recent news on the free agent front sheds plenty of light on where this franchise is at.

Despite already having a quality QB1 in Jared Goff that was influential in helping this team develop one of the best offenses in the NFL last year, the Lions have also shown an interest in one of the best free agent quarterbacks on the open market in Teddy Bridgewater.

Bridgewater will essentially become the best backup in the NFL when he signs with his next team (assuming he doesn't want to try for somewhere else with a shot to start), and this does make a lot of sense for the Lions as a mitigation of risk.

The Lions have already done a great job of circling the wagons around Goff this offseason. Sure, there has been talk of adding different guys from outside sources, but Detroit has been very consistent in the notion that Goff is the guy.

Bridgewater would just set that in stone even further.

Not only would signing Teddy Bridgewater show a commitment to Goff in the present, but it also likely takes a quarterback off the board with the sixth-overall pick.

Detroit would add Bridgewater as the number two behind Goff, then Nate Sudfeld would be the emergency option if all else fails, giving the Lions a quality quarterback room to compete in 2023.

This depth chart doesn't leave much room for a rookie, and that isn't a bad thing.

The Lions have a legitimate chance of being one of the best teams in the NFC this season. A rookie quarterback would do nothing to further the chances of winning the NFC North or making a deep playoff push.

A stud defender at six would be a different story.

In theory, the Lions could still draft a rookie and then cut Sudfeld, but it sure seems like this franchise is doing everything in its power to tell the world that a quarterback isn't in play with one of the most valuable picks in the 2023 NFL Draft.