Teddy Bridgewater's return to the Lions proves he really is living the dream

In 2016, Teddy Bridgewater nearly lost as much any other NFL quarterback ever has. A catastrophic knee injury suffered in practice was so gruesome, his surgeon compared it to a war wound. His career wasn't just in question -- his entire quality of life was.

Bridgewater's tireless work brought him back to the football field after missing an entire season. While he never reached the heights of his Pro Bowl 2015 -- he played only nine more snaps for the Minnesota Vikings before moving from "potential franchise quarterback" to "reliable veteran" -- he spent the following six years as a high-value fill-in capable of winning games wherever he went.

This reputation chased him into retirement. Bridgewater stepped away from the game at age 31 to lead his alma mater, Miami Northwestern, to a Florida state high school championship this fall. He's not satisfied with just one title in 2024, however.

Bridgewater will reportedly return to the sideline where he spent 2023 by unretiring and joining the Detroit Lions. He'll give the Lions a proven veteran behind MVP candidate Jared Goff, bolstering a depth chart in which Hendon Hooker served as the team's top backup.

This won't just be a considerable raise from his high school coaching paycheck. He's also joining the NFC's top team and has a remarkable chance of being a member of the first Detroit team to make it to the Super Bowl. Should he be forced into action, he'll be playing under a coaching staff that's worked wonders restoring Goff's value after he was cast away from a Los Angeles Rams team convinced he couldn't be a high impact quarterback.

Bridgewater is only 32 years old, but he could be entering a low-stakes Roger Clemens phase. He can coach high school football into the holiday season, then sign with a needy team each December to provide a trustworthy insurance policy behind a high-performing quarterback. Or he can make 2024 his last hurrah with a Lions team that currently has the second-best odds to win Super Bowl 59.

Either way, Teddy Bridgewater keeps winning.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Teddy Bridgewater's return to the Lions proves he really is living the dream