Illinois fans would have loved to see another season with quarterback Luke Altmyer in an Illini jersey, but alas, he has moved on to the NFL, signing with the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent. The Lions have starting quarterback Jared Goff leading their offense and signed backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, shoving Altmyer down the depth chart.
Well, so Atlymer thought. Teddy Bridgewater announced Sunday that he is retiring from the NFL... again. The Lions placed Bridgewater on the reserved/retired list before practice on Sunday, thus ending his time in Detroit. That decision left just Goff and Altmyer as the only quarterbacks for the Lions for the time being.
The Lions quickly went out and signed free agent Joshua Dobbs to a one-year deal, effectively making him the backup quarterback, but it isn't official yet. While Lions head coach Matt Campbell likes what he has seen from Altmyer and sees improvement, he does want a veteran quarterback in that backup position.
Luke Altmyer should get a bulk of the reps in the Detroit Lions' first preseason game
The Lions are set to take on the Cincinnati Bengals in their first preseason game on Thursday, and while Goff may get one drive, he isn't expected to play much, if at all. So that leaves Altmyer and Dobbs, and since Dobbs will likely only get two practices in with the team before the game, that leaves Altmyer with the bulk of the reps, which is exactly what Campbell says he needs.
"He's got a long way to go and he just needs a million reps," Campbell said of Altmyer.
That is what all rookie quarterbacks need when going into the league, especially undrafted free agents, so to basically be thrust into a QB2 battle won't be easy for Atlymer. The good news is that he should get a ton of reps in the preseason game and have a chance to really show his presence in a game and not just in practice.
It isn't easy to make the jump from college to the NFL, and Atlmyer has now been dealt an opportunity that he needs to take full advantage of. Of course, every backup quarterback wants the Brock Purdy story: being the last pick in the NFL draft, a third-string QB who then goes on to eventually lead the San Francisco 49ers to a Super Bowl.
The key to that story is that the guys in front of Purdy all went down with injuries in order for him to get on the field. Lions fans definitely aren't hoping that Goff goes down, and honestly, no one hopes for an injury to any player.
Even if Goff did go down, the ball right now would likely go to Dobbs, but if Atlmyer puts on a solid outing on Thursday night, who knows, this battle could heat up more than anyone expects.
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