Teddy Bridgewater’s return to the Detroit Lions on Thursday was no surprise to Hendon Hooker.
The Lions’ backup quarterback had known for some time that Bridgewater was planning to come back to the team, even before training camp began.
“I figured Teddy was going to come back here this season,” Hooker shared on Thursday. “I didn’t know when. I knew when his season was over he was going to come back. I mean, we’ve been talking about it since the summer.”
The Lions signed Bridgewater as backup insurance for the playoffs, a decision coach Dan Campbell stressed wasn’t a reflection on their trust in Hooker as the backup.
Hooker took second-string quarterback reps during Thursday’s practice and has served as the No. 2 quarterback behind Jared Goff throughout the season. In three appearances, he completed 6 of 9 passes for 62 yards.
However, as a third-round pick in 2023 who missed most of his rookie season recovering from a college knee injury, Hooker’s NFL experience is limited to those appearances. Bridgewater, in contrast, is a 10-year veteran with a 33-32 starting record. He played for the Lions last season, is familiar with offensive coordinator Ben Johnson’s system, and completed 70.8% of his passes in his lone playoff start in 2015.
“I understand what it looks like,” Campbell explained. “But it’s just a different world that we’re getting ready to walk into, and I just – we felt like this was the right thing to do, especially with somebody that I have a tremendous amount of trust with and for. He understands our offense well.”
“The guys know him well, the coaches know him well, and he brings a certain level of comfort to us.”
Campbell mentioned that both Hooker and Bridgewater could play if Goff is unavailable during the playoffs. With three quarterbacks on their 53-man roster, the Lions have the option to designate either Hooker or Bridgewater as their emergency quarterback without impacting their gameday roster.
At 13-2, the Lions can secure the NFC North title and the No. 1 seed in the playoffs with a win on Monday night against the San Francisco 49ers, as well as a Minnesota Vikings loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. If the Vikings win, next week’s Lions-Vikings game will determine the division champion.
“Doesn’t mean we’re disappointed in Hooker,” Campbell clarified. “That’s not what this means, it just means this gives us somebody that’s played a lot in the NFL, we’re getting ready for the playoffs. And so, it’ll be good to get him back in the fold with us.”
Bridgewater had told the Free Press last December that he was retiring from the NFL to coach high school football at his alma mater, Miami Northwestern. After leading the team to a Florida state championship, he told NFL Network that he planned to return to the NFL and re-sign with a playoff contender.
During the offseason, Hooker trained with Bridgewater and Lions receivers Jameson Williams and Maurice Alexander. He and Bridgewater, who declined interview requests on Thursday, kept in regular contact during the season.
“Definitely miss my guy just being in the room and leaning on him whenever Jared is doing his own thing,” Hooker said. “Still asking questions. He’s still my mentor at the end of the day, so any questions I have about life or this game of football or being a pro always seem to lean on Teddy.”
In addition to providing backup for Goff, Campbell expects Bridgewater to help prepare the Lions’ first-team defense for the quarterbacks they might face in the playoffs once “he gets his sea legs back under him.” In the meantime, Bridgewater will focus on shaking off any rust from sitting out the season and getting reacquainted with the team.
“He’s been in 80-degree weather this whole time so of course he gets out there and he’s like, ‘Man, I can’t feel my toes,'” Hooker said. “Welcome back. So just jokes about that. And then just talk about the playbook and things that we got into this year that he’s really liked and had questions about.”
Hooker mentioned that both Campbell and Lions general manager Brad Holmes reassured him that he still has a role on the offense. Having Bridgewater back will only help him grow as a quarterback, he added.
“Throughout all my years of playing football, I’ve always been in a quarterback competition,” Hooker noted. “So it’s just the nature of the business. Just bring your game.”
