Nate Sudfeld and Adrian Martinez are about to face some serious competition for the Lions' backup quarterback job.
Starting Monday, Sudfeld and Martinez will be competing for reps in practice with veteran Teddy Bridgewater. The Lions inked Bridgewater to a free-agent deal this past week.
Bridgewater, a first-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings in 2014, has suited up for five NFL franchises throughout his career, and most recently played for the Miami Dolphins.
He brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to Detroit's quarterbacks room, a position group that was in need of an upgrade behind starter Jared Goff.
Bridgewater sat on the sidelines for the Lions' exhibition opener with the N.Y. Giants Friday, while Sudfeld and Martinez took reps behind center.
Sudfeld and Martinez combined to complete just 19-of-35 passes for 230 yards and zero touchdowns. Also, Sudfeld turned the ball over twice, tossing a pair of interceptions.
The only saving grace was Martinez's final series, which resulted in the game-winning score for Detroit. On the drive, the undrafted signal-caller displayed good poise, and ultimately ran it in himself for the game-deciding touchdown.
"Well, I was impressed, because I thought he was really composed. I thought he handled everything very well," Lions head man Dan Campbell said of Martinez's performance against the Giants. "You don’t know what to expect. We see him every day in practice, and we’re hard on him. But, man, I thought he commanded the huddle. I thought he ran the offense. I thought he was efficient. I thought he was unfazed, and that’s what you want out of your quarterback. Made a few plays with his legs. We had a couple of things, outlets that if he felt the pressure—man, he didn’t miss a beat. I mean, he was on it. I was impressed.”
Despite Martinez piloting the team's 11-play, 69-yard game-winning drive, he's still expected to be the member of Detroit's quarterbacks room impacted the most by the acquisition of Bridgewater.
"The plan right now would be Martinez is going to get a little bit less (reps), because Teddy needs to start getting some," Campbell said. "So, you’re looking at Nate and Teddy right now. Adrian is the one who’s probably going to have to take a little bit of a backseat and not get as many reps.”
Bridgewater owns a 33-32 record as an NFL starter, and has thrown for a total of 75 touchdowns and 15,120 yards in 78 career games. He's also a one-time Pro Bowler, having received the honors during his 2015 campaign with the Vikings.
Detroit general manager Brad Holmes is excited for what the seasoned passer will bring to the organization.
"I've always been a huge Bridgewater fan, ever since he came out of Louisville. … He wins, he’s efficient, he’s got good feet…and he throws a good ball,” Holmes said during the alternate broadcast presentation of Friday's preseason opener. “We wanted to bring some more competition with Nate Sudfeld, and I think that will be a good battle throughout camp.”
More must-reads: