The Detroit Lions were forced to pivot to another option as their backup quarterback after Teddy Bridgewater abruptly announced his retirement, his second, just weeks before the season
Teddy Bridgewater #10 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers talks with Jared Goff #16 of the Detroit Lions after the game at Ford Field on October 20, 2025 in Detroit, Michigan
Teddy Bridgewater (L) was to be Jared Goff's (R) backup with the Detroit Lions(Image: Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images)
View 2 Images
The Detroit Lions were forced to pivot quickly after Teddy Bridgewater announced his retirement weeks before the start of the 2026 NFL season.
In March 2026, Bridgewater was signed to a one-year, $1.8 million contract to back up star quarterback Jared Goff. On August 9, Lions head coach Dan Campbell announced that the 33-year-old would be stepping away from the team, and the team placed him on the reserve/retired list.
One day later, Bridgewater took to social media to formally announce that he was retiring from the NFL, leaving the Lions to scramble to replace the quarterback as the 2026 season inches closer. The announcement comes after the league quietly changed a rule without the owners' approval.
It was reported by NFL insider Ian Rapoport that in the wake of Bridgewater's retirement, the Lions would be working out "a few QBs" to replace the recently retired star.
Hours after Rapoport's initial report, it was reported that Detroit and veteran quarterback Josh Dobbs have agreed to a one-year, $1.425 million contract with $475,000 fully guaranteed.
In Detroit, Dobbs will be the No. 2 quarterback behind Goff, with rookie quarterback Luke Altmyer slated to be the third-stringer.
Joshua Dobbs #11 of the New England Patriots warms up during the AFC Championship Playoff game between the New England Patriots and the Denver Broncos at Empower Field At Mile High on January 25, 2026 in Denver, Colorado
Josh Dobbs was quickly signed by the Detroit Lions after Bridgewater's abrupt retirement(Image: Photo by Kara Durrette/Getty Images)
View 2 Images
The news of Dobbs' signing comes after Bridgewater posted a lengthy Instagram post announcing that his latest retirement was "official."
"It’s so crazy 10 years ago around this time, I suffered one of the most gruesome knee injuries the game itself, it’s players and some doctors had ever seen," he began on Instagram. "Everything football related since 2016 had been fueled by the 'experts' predicting that I would never play football again.
"We really showed them by playing 10 more seasons! However, this wheel of mine can no longer deal with something so simple as standing around on the turf field. This thing just doesn’t recover the same way it did years ago so I rather officially hang it up.
"It’s finally run its course and when the body speaks to me, I have to listen so that I can be in one piece and available for my children as they grow up. The game of football was beyond great to me and owes me nothing at all. I really did things my way."
He then concluded his post by announcing that the next chapter of his life will be focused on his family as he looks ahead now that his career is over.
"Just like one part of my career was fueled by a series of events, this next chapter of my life will be fueled with an abundance of love by this sweet little angel of ours that’s coming in a couple of weeks," Bridgewater added.
Bridgewater's 2026 season would have been his second stint with the Lions, having previously signed a one-year, $3 million deal in 2023. At the end of the 2023 season, he announced his first retirement to coach at Miami Northwestern, before returning to Detroit in December 2024 on a one-year deal.
In 2025, the veteran signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, finishing out the season before becoming a free agent.