Detroit Lions quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has retired from the NFL, the team announced Sunday. Bridgewater, who was competing for the backup role to Jared Goff, decided to step away from the team in the middle of training camp.

Career Overview

Bridgewater was a first-round pick to the Minnesota Vikings in 2014 out of Louisville. He was a Pro Bowler early in his career, going 11-5 with 3,231 passing yards, 14 passing touchdowns, while rushing for 192 yards with three scores in his second season.

However, his career was derailed when a horrific knee injury led to a left knee dislocation and a torn ACL during a practice just before the start of the 2016 season. Bridgewater would move on to the New Orleans Saints in 2018, getting six starts across two seasons before getting a heavier workload with the Carolina Panthers in 2020.

He went 4-11 in Carolina before going 7-7 with the Denver Broncos the following year. Bridgewater also played a season with the Miami Dolphins in 2022, going 0-2 in his only two starts with the franchise.

If this is officially Bridgewater’s last time on an NFL football field as a quarterback, he threw for 15,182 yards with 75 passing touchdowns over 83 games. He owned a 33-32 record as a starter across 11 seasons.

Reaction from Coach Dan Campbell

Lions head coach Dan Campbell told reporters on Sunday that Bridgewater’s retirement could stick this time. Campbell added that he believes Bridgewater’s biggest worry was letting the team down, but he’s not that type of guy.

Campbell praised Bridgewater, saying, ‘I’ve known Teddy a long time and the human being is unbelievable. Certainly, the player, everything that he’s about. The type of teammate he is, the way he prepares … always played the game up here and had a huge heart.’

The Lions were quick to sign another journeyman, Josh Dobbs, to a $1.425 million contract with $475,000 fully guaranteed, per NFL Network. Dobbs is familiar with Detroit, having been on the team’s practice squad during the 2022 campaign.

Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.