ALLEN PARK, Mich. — On Tuesday, shortly after the Detroit Lions announced the signing of veteran backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, coach Dan Campbell was asked how much the 30-year-old quarterback could help rookie Hendon Hooker.
Campbell cut the question off before it was finished.
“I’m not even talking about Hendon,” he said. “I’m talking about the receivers.”
Bridgewater isn’t with the Lions yet but he should be soon. Campbell brought up the fact, unprompted (and on multiple occasions) Tuesday that during his time with the New Orleans Saints, he watched Bridgewater personally help develop the young receivers, including Michael Thomas.
While serving as Drew Brees’ backup, Bridgewater came into the building the day before every game to go over the entire game plan with the young wideouts, Campbell said. Bridgewater explained how coverages worked and what the team needed from the receivers in certain situations week-to-week. Basically, he was a player-coach.
“An unbelievable teammate,” Campbell said. “He is a pro.”
The Lions signed Bridgewater to seal a big talent gap at backup quarterback, something that was on full display during Wednesday’s workout with the New York Giants. Current No. 2 Nate Sudfeld did not have a good day, throwing an interception and routinely missing open targets downfield. That included one to Jameson Williams, who broke wide open on a deep post, only to see the ball severely underthrown and broken up. After a promising minicamp and first week of training camp, Sudfeld has had a rough go at it. Adrian Martinez, working with the third unit, has struggled even more.
But Bridgewater can do more than just fill a need at backup quarterback. The Lions in Williams also have a young wide receiver in need of development, and as much on-field mentorship as he can handle.
Detroit believes this is a playoff roster. If Jared Goff gets hurt, Campbell believes Bridgewater is capable of keeping the team on track. More than that, though, Campbell also clearly wanted Bridgewater for the influence he could have on Williams. He’ll help Hooker as well. If what Campbell said about Bridgewater’s work ethic in New Orleans is repeated in Detroit, he’ll even make guys like Amon-Ra St. Brown better.
However, the real focus here may well be on Williams. He’s currently rotating through with the first string, but he also sees a lot of reps with the No. 2s. Every practice rep he takes in camp — and this season — is valuable, especially given his looming six-game suspension. There cannot be any wasted throws — and right now, we’re seeing too many. Sudfeld is clearly pressing, desperately trying to make the team.
Williams still has to continue working on making his own technique consistent every day. It was a quiet few days for him, with QB play factoring into that. Being able to practice with Bridgewater, a confident veteran who won’t be worried about getting cut, could be a big deal.
Right now, the Lions need more out of a backup, for now and for the future of their roster.
Secondary passes test this week
The joint-practice setting is where beat writers on the ground in Indianapolis questioned Detroit’s secondary a year ago, as the Lions and Colts teamed up. It didn’t feel like fans could put much faith in the secondary Detroit was trotting out. That proved true in the regular season.
That has not been the case in Allen Park this week.
Lions safety Kerby Joseph was the standout on Tuesday. He had a pair of pass breakups and a “tackle” of Giants quarterback Daniel Jones on the final play of red-zone action for the Lions’ first-team defense, saving a touchdown and allowing the unit to head off the field in celebration.
During Tuesday’s practice, Gardner-Johnson nearly picked off Jones on a deep ball that came his way playing safety, and during Wednesday’s practice, Gardner-Johnson immediately snuffed out a swing pass from Jones to Parris Campbell and closed on the ball for a TFL. During that same period, on a play-action pass intended for Darius Slayton, Cam Sutton fully extended and laid out for a diving deflection and a pass breakup.
The overall takeaway: There’s much more fight, compete — whatever you want to call it — in this secondary. There are guys capable of making plays all over the field. It looks different.
The starters, naturally, garner a lot of attention in these joint practices. And for good reason. They’ll get more work in the days leading up to the preseason game than the game itself. But that doesn’t mean others can’t benefit.
Just ask defensive tackle Brodric Martin and right guard Colby Sorsdal.
During one-on-ones between the Lions’ offensive line and the Giants’ defensive line, Sorsdal appeared to win the two reps observed. Don’t let the small school fool you — Sorsdal doesn’t look out of place for a fifth-round pick from William & Mary.
Now, it’s too early to know what Sorsdal will ultimately become. He should make the 53-man roster. He should be a reserve piece for this year, behind Halapoulivaati Vaitai and Graham Glasgow in the right guard pecking order. But he has the makeup and feet to stick around in this league, potentially as a starter down the road. Lions vets like what they see.
“I think we’re kind of throwing him in the fire,” offensive tackle Taylor Decker said. “And that’s a good thing because he’s the personality type — from what I’ve been able to assess — that’s gonna rise to the challenge. … As a rookie, you’re gonna have good and bad days. How do you respond to that? Do you trust your training when you’re out there across different guys? I think that’s a huge thing. … He’s learning a lot, he’s got a great skill set, he’s got quick feet and he wants to get better.”
Martin, meanwhile, has earned first-team reps as training camp has progressed. He’s still running with the twos, but it certainly seems like he’s further along than we thought he’d be coming out of the draft. He’s got some burst for a player who’s 6-foot-5, 330 pounds. If his role this year is to give the Lions some juice off the bench and cut into Isaiah Buggs’ snaps to keep him fresh, it appears he’s ready.
“I feel like Brodric, he’s got his feet under him now,” defensive tackle Alim McNeill said. “You kinda get in here, it’s kinda hard to learn the different techniques and stuff, but once you get your feet under you, you can go play ball and it’s a lot better. I feel like Brodric has done that. He’s got his feet under him now. He understands what’s going on now, what we’re doing in this defense and why.”
As both players navigate life in the
NFL, strides made during weeks like this can prove valuable down the road.
News, notes and observations
• One of the most impressive plays of the day just so happened to be an incompletion. Remember: The result of the play doesn’t matter. The beauty of this week is going up against another team and seeing if you’re ready. On the play, running back Jahmyr Gibbs ran a wheel route, was blanketed by two defenders downfield (including Amani Oruwariye), went up, caught the ball with one hand, but came down without getting two feet in. So, yes. An incompletion. But the sheer fact that the Lions have this much trust in a running back — or offensive weapon — to make a play like that should tell you all you need to know. Gibbs looks ready.
• Another running back who impressed Wednesday was UDFA rookie Mohamed Ibrahim. Most notably, his physicality. There was a particular run in the red zone where Ibrahim lowered his shoulders and delivered a violent blow to a Giants defensive back. You could hear the thudding of pads from the other field. After the play, Ibrahim jogged back to the sideline and got a chest bump from RBs coach Scottie Montgomery, who liked what he saw.
• It was a tougher day for the offense overall. David Montgomery turned the ball over a couple of times, including a strip by Giants safety Dane Belton on a screen play going nowhere. St. Brown had a rare fumble. Sudfeld and Martinez each threw interceptions. Credit the Giants for bouncing back on Wednesday.
• The Lions love to put their tight ends on the outside. They’ve done it with Sam LaPorta often, they’ve done it with Brock Wright and on one play Wednesday, they did it with James Mitchell on a fade route to the end zone. Sometimes they’ll show that look — a tight end out wide with two wide receivers on the same side — before motioning the tight end to line up in a three-point stance next to the tackle. Keep an eye out for it in Friday’s preseason opener. It’s fun to watch.
• Aidan Hutchinson turned 23 on Wednesday. He celebrated by embarrassing Giants backup tackle Korey Cunningham with a spin move on a one-on-one rep. He lost a matchup versus Andrew Thomas — one of the best in football. But overall, Hutchinson had an excellent pair of practices. He looks faster, stronger and far more disruptive than his rookie year and impressed some of the visiting media in town.
• There was a brief shoving match between Lions offensive lineman Germain Ifedi and Giants linebacker Oshane Ximines. Other than that, things were pretty quiet on the camp fight front. Sorry to disappoint.
I think I see me a contender, and I ain't...lion.
