Lions star 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.
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.
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.
