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The QB Lions must add after surprise Teddy Bridgewater retirement
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- The QB Lions must add after surprise Teddy Bridgewater retirement
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Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell told the media on Sunday that quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is "going to step away" from football, which sounds a lot like the veteran quarterback's retirement from the NFL. Bridgewater calls it a career after 11 NFL seasons as a solid, though not spectacular, signal-caller. At 33, he was a solid backup for the Lions, who now have to look for another backup QB, and that player should be Jimmy Garoppolo .
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With Bridgewater stepping away from the team, that leaves undrafted rookie free agent Luke Altmyer, out of Illinois, as the Lions' primary backup for Jared Goff . Because Detroit is a team with real Super Bowl aspiration s, having an undrafted rookie as a primary backup will simply not fly.
If Goff goes down this season for any length of time, Campbell and the Lions need someone with a proven track record. And the veteran QB market is pretty thin right now .
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Outside of Jimmy G, Russell Wilson , John Wolford , Brett Rypien , and Jeff Driskel are the only three QBs who were on a roster last season that are still available.
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In Garoppolo, though, the Lions get essentially the same guy as Bridgewater. In 12 seasons, Jimmy G has started one fewer game than Bridgewater and has 10 more wins under his belt. At 34, Garoppolo isn't going to win a starting quarterback job in the NFL, but like Bridgewater, he is a signal-caller who has won real, high-pressure games at the professional level and should be able to do so in 2026, albeit in small doses and only in an emergency.
As NFL training camp rolls on, there will be more experienced or talented QBs who become available as depth charts start to take shape. But for now, the Lions must bring Jimmy Garoppolo in and at least kick the tires.
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