Teddy Bridgewater back with Lions after visiting 'Fountain of Youth'

Teddy Bridgewater is back, and he's got a fresh perspective on his career. Bridgewater, who officially signed with the Detroit Lions on Monday, has been with the team twice before, first backing up Jared Goff during the 2023 season before briefly returning in December 2024 for Detroit's playoff push. That second stint came on the heels of Bridgewater coaching his alma mater (Miami Northwestern High School) to a Class 3A Florida state championship, a task he took on after initially retiring from the NFL at 31 years old.

Following his departure from Miami Northwestern and after a year spent as Baker Mayfield's understudy with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Bridgewater has a newfound appreciation for the game he recently walked away from. "It's like I visited the Fountain of Youth or something this past year," Bridgewater, 33, said Monday. "That fire has been lit.

I don't know what it is. I don't know if it's my children or just being back home, but it's just something in me that's just like, 'Man, you know what? I could do this again.

' "The past couple years I was one foot in, one foot out, contemplating retirement, contemplating playing, coaching, doing all these different things. And now it's like, 'OK. I've coached.