On Sunday, August 9, 2026, Teddy Bridgewater was placed on the retired/reserved list before the Detroit Lions took the field for practice.
“Teddy Bridgewater is going to step away,” Detroit Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell said during a press conference. “I’ve known Teddy a long time and, man, the human being is unbelievable — certainly the player. Everything that he’s about, the type of teammate he is, the way that he prepares, [he] always played the game up here and had a huge heart. He’s going to be missed.”
On December 16, 2023, Bridgewater announced that he would retire at the end of the season. Months later, he returned to his hometown to coach the varsity football team at his alma mater, Miami Northwestern. However, after a year of retirement, he returned to the league and signed with the Detroit Lions. The Florida native appeared in one game with the Lions during the 2024-2025 postseason before joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a year as the team’s backup quarterback.
Heading into the 2026-2027 NFL Season, he was expected to serve as a veteran presence in the Detroit locker room. With Bridgewater entering retirement, the Lions will look to undrafted rookie Luke Altmyer and a potential late offseason add out of free agency.
“We like Luke. Luke is growing,” Campbell said. “Luke is getting better. He just needs reps. I mean, he needs a million reps. With the reps that he has gotten at this point, he is improved. So, we like him, but we are going to add somebody, and we’d like to add a veteran quarterback. We’re hoping maybe something happens tomorrow.”
The Detroit Lions will open the 2026 NFL Pre-Season on August 13, 2026, at Paycor Stadium against the Bengals.
