Why it was 'Lions or bust' for Teddy Bridgewater in return to Detroit, NFL

Why it was ‘Lions or bust’ for Teddy Bridgewater in return to Detroit, NFL

Posted by Admin December 28, 2024 NFL

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Teddy Bridgewater won a ring in his first year as head coach of Miami Northwestern; now the veteran quarterback is chasing another championship after re-signing with the Detroit Lions this week.

“I’m here to help this team right now,” Bridgewater said Saturday in his first interview since re-signing with the Lions. “Whatever’s in store for this team, man. I’m all for it. It’s moving in the right direction. You’ve been following it. You guys been in the locker room more than me this year, so you know what’s in store for this team.”

The Lions (13-2) set a franchise record for victories with a win over the Chicago Bears last week and visit the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night in a rematch of last season’s NFC championship game.

The Lions can clinch the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs with a win over the 49ers if the Green Bay Packers beat the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. If the Vikings win, next week’s Lions-Vikings game will decide the NFC North and who gets a first-round bye.

Bridgewater, who served as Jared Goff’s backup last season, said he followed the Lions and stayed in regular communication with Lions coach Dan Campbell and several players while coaching his alma mater to a state championship in Florida.

Miami Northwestern went 12-2 this season and outscored its five playoff opponents by a combined score of 262-12.

“I think a lot of people don’t understand the relationship that Dan and I have and (Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn) and I have,” Bridgewater said. “It goes back to our New Orleans days, and it goes beyond football. I watched those two, the way Dan prepared the tight end room when we were in New Orleans, the way AG was with defensive backs, and I watched the way those guys grew in their system from the tight ends to the defensive backs. Talk about Marcus Williams, who was in Baltimore, Vonn Bell, Marshon Latimore and those guys. And then just following those guys’ journey and knowing the impact that AG and Dan had on those guys, it’s like, man, these are two men who I can look up to. I’m 32 years old, I’m not too old to look up to someone. And what better two guys than to idolize?”

Bridgewater, a neighborhood hero in the Liberty City section of Miami, said he returned home to mentor local youth to make good on a promise he made to the community years ago.

He said coaching “was like food for my soul, knowing that I was able to be a stepping stool and I’m able to be a stepping stool in their journey,” and he said returning to the NFL gives some of his high school players another goal to shoot for.

“I always talk about winning the game of football, but also trying to prepare them to win for life because in the area that I coach, at my high school, in that area, in the Liberty City area, not many successful people make it out,” he said. “And if you are, you have a little bit of luck or you had a strong foundation. So I just try to provide them with the right foundation to have them ready for once they graduate from Northwestern.”

As for his future, Bridgewater said he has no plans to coach in college or the NFL.

“College, got to have deep pockets. NFL, you can’t love sleep, so I’d rather stick with the high school level,” he said.

And he said he always viewed his return to the NFL as “Lions or bust.”

“I mean, it’s always opportunities in the NFL, especially when you’re a quarterback, but Dan and I, man, we kept in touch outside of football,” he said. “Like I said, our relationship goes beyond the gridiron. He’s a great man who he checks on me, checks on my family, my well-being, so who wouldn’t want to come back and work for a guy like that?”

Injury update

The Lions listed linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin as questionable for Monday’s game against the 49ers in his return from a neck injury. Reeves-Maybin has practiced in full all week and is expected to be activated from injured reserve before Monday’s game.

Running back David Montgomery remains out with a knee injury, and Kalif Raymond (foot) won’t return from IR for at least another week after the Lions started his 21-day practice window Thursday.

Dave Birkett is the author of the new book, “Detroit Lions: An Illustrated Timeline.”

Order your copy here.

Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.