Lions QB Teddy Bridgewater plans to retire after 2023 NFL season
Teddy Bridgewater told Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press this week that he plans to retire after the 2023 NFL season to coach high school football and focus on his two sons.
The 31-year-old Detroit Lions quarterback is in his 10th year and being Jared Goff's backup means he has only taken part in one play this season — a kneel-down to close out a Week 5 win over the Carolina Panthers.
"Whatever was meant for me, it played out the exact way it was meant," Bridgewater said. "And I'm still with that mindset every day, and I'm just really appreciative that I'm in Year 10. I tell everyone this is my last year, so I'm in my final year and I'm just enjoying it all, man."
Bridgewater was the 32nd pick in the 2014 NFL Draft coming out of Louisville. He began his career with the Minnesota Vikings but suffered a devastating injury during training camp in 2016 when he tore his left ACL and dislocated his knee. He would miss all of that season and not return until November 2017, when he served as Case Keenum's backup. His only game was in a relief role in Week 15.
After two resurgent seasons with the New Orleans Saints, Bridgewater moved on to the Panthers, Denver Broncos and Miami Dolphins. He signed with the Lions in August to reunite with Dan Campbell, who was an assistant coach when he was with the Saints. That decision came after Bridgewater first contemplated retiring after the 2022 season.
While a promising career was derailed by serious injury, Bridgewater isn't thinking about what could have been.
"When I got hurt, I realized that I'm only a football player for three hours on a Sunday afternoon," Bridgewater said. "Outside of that, I'm Theodore Bridgewater, so it just put everything into perspective, and it really helped me not even have to think about not being a starter [anymore]. It's like, 'Man, I still got purpose.' And my purpose is bigger than the game of football. Football is just a platform that I have."
Bridgewater's NFL goodbye will not come for a while as the 9-4 Lions are heading toward an NFC North title and the playoffs.
In what would be a fitting road to retirement, two of the Lions' final three regular-season games come against the Vikings, the team that drafted him a decade ago. And as of Week 15, Detroit and Minnesota would meet in the wild-card round should the NFC playoff picture remain the same.
