Despite bringing him back for what would have been a third stint with the club, veteran quarterback Teddy Bridgewater announced his departure from the Detroit Lions over the weekend, with heavy speculation that it was to announce his retirement from the NFL.
That news was made official on Monday afternoon, as Bridgewater confirmed that he's hanging up the cleats and doing so permanently.
Bridgewater, who previously retired from the NFL in 2023 to focus on coaching high school football, later returned to action with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before coming back to Detroit again.
And now that he's indicated that his second retirement will be for good, he's released a heartfelt statement on social media.
Not long after announcing his official retirement from the NFL, Bridgewater released the following touching statement, saying his body can't stand the rigors of competitive football any longer and that he wants to prioritize his health and spend time with his growing family.
"This time it's official 😭. It's so crazy 10 years ago around this time, I suffered one of the most gruesome knee injuries the game itself, it's players and some doctors had ever seen. Everything football related since 2016 had been fueled by the "experts" predicting that I would never play football again. We really showed them by playing 10 more seasons! However, this wheel of mine can no longer deal with something so simple as standing around on the turf field.
This thing just doesn't recover the same way it did years ago so I rather officially hang it up. It's finally run its course and when the body speaks to me, I have to listen so that I can be in one piece and available for my children as they grow up. The game of football was beyond great to me and owes me nothing at all. I really did things my way Lol.
Just like one part of my career was fueled by a series of events, this next chapter of my life will be fueled with an abundance of love by this sweet little angel of ours that's coming in a couple of weeks 🙏🏽💗🌸 #TAB. (I'll post some football pics one of these days 🤣). Corey I'm finally giving you my helmet 😭😭😭."
Over the course of his career, Bridgewater suited up for multiple teams and amassed an 11-5 record while throwing for 3,231 yards and 14 touchdowns; he also added 192 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns.
The Lions moved swiftly after Bridgewater's departure, inking nine-year NFL veteran quarterback Josh Dobbs to a one-year contract; he'll compete for the backup position behind Jared Goff with Luke Altmyer, who is expected to see several reps in preseason action that officially begins later this week on Thursday against the Cincinnati Bengals .
Dobbs, who is already familiar with the franchise after having spent time on their practice squad in 2022, was signed to a $1.425 million contract with $475,000 fully guaranteed.
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