Lions training camp preview: Can Luke Altmyer force a QB3 role?

Detroit Lions quarterback Luke Altmyer (2) practices during mini camp at Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park on Wednesday, June 17, 2026. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

With the Detroit Lions' 2026 training camp on the horizon, we are bringing back our roster preview series to help prepare you for all the end-of-summer festivities. If you're not familiar with this series, we guide you position-by-position through the roster, examining the starting, reserve, and specialty roles, which players are competing for which jobs, and project how the Lions will approach each situation.

In this initial installment, we turn our attention to the quarterback position, speculate on current and future roles, and discuss how many reserves will make the 53-man roster.

Roster construction

During the Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell regime, the Lions have taken slightly different approaches to the quarterback position in each season. However, the underlying philosophy has remained consistent: keep two quarterbacks on the active roster and one on the practice squad during the regular season, while maintaining the flexibility to add another quarterback to the active roster late in the season and playoffs for emergency purposes.

Let's take a look at what they've done in the previous five seasons:

• 2021: The Lions kept three quarterbacks on the active roster, including Jared Goff, David Blough, and Tim Boyle, mainly due to the NFL's COVID restrictions.
• 2022: Goff and Nate Sudfeld were on the active roster; Boyle was on the practice squad.
• 2023: Goff and Teddy Bridgewater were on the active roster, Blough on the practice squad, Sudfeld on injured reserve, and Hendon Hooker on the PUP list. Hooker would eventually be removed from the PUP and placed on the active roster late in the season.
• 2024: Goff and Hooker were on the active roster, with Jake Fromm on the practice squad. Bridgewater would rejoin the active roster late in the season as the Lions' emergency third quarterback," but assumed QB2 duties for the playoffs, with Hooker acting as the Lions' EQB3.
• 2025: Goff partnered with Kyle Allen, who beat out Hooker in a training camp battle; C.J. Beathard operated as the Lions' practice squad QB.

Someone old and someone new

In 2025, Kyle Allen signed in Detroit for a modest $1.27 million contract and convincingly won the backup job out of training camp. He remained the Lions' primary backup all season, and while he was not called upon to play meaningful snaps, he impressed the Buffalo Bills enough that they signed him to a two-year, $4.1 million contract-a figure larger than the Lions preferred to match.

To replace Allen, the Lions went with a familiar face, re-signing Teddy Bridgewater, who was Detroit's primary backup in 2023 and late in 2024. Bridgewater brings plenty of experience, as well as tremendous leadership to the quarterbacks room, and checks in with a reasonable one-year, $1.8 million deal.

In an attempt to upgrade their QB3 role, the Lions signed undrafted rookie free agent Luke Altmyer out of Illinois. Altmyer's contract is worth $888,333, only slightly above the league minimum, but he carries $257,500 in guarantees, the second most the Lions distributed among this year's UDFA class.

With no other quarterbacks on the roster, both Bridgewater and Altmyer have a chance to establish themselves in key roles on the Lions active roster or practice squad in 2026.

The battleground

Entering 2026 training camp, Goff is once again the established starter, leaving only a couple of questions for this position group.

Can Bridgewater hold off Altmyer for the Lions QB2 job?

As a former first-round pick and 10+ year NFL veteran, Bridgewater enters training camp as the favorite for the primary backup job. However, at 33 years of age (34 in November) and having already come out of retirement once, it's fair to wonder how well he can hold up for another NFL season. To be fair, there are plenty of quarterbacks who play well into their 30s, but at the same time, there was a reason he stepped away from the game in 2024.

The past couple years I was one foot in, one foot out: contemplating retirement, contemplating playing, coaching, doing all of these different things, and now it's like, okay, I've coached, I know what that's like. I've been retired, I know what that's like. I just want to keep playing ball," Bridgewater said during OTAs this spring.

Bridgewater would go on to note that he previously convinced himself that he was too "old" to play in the NFL, but his recent experiences have assured him that he's still got so much left in the tank" and that a fire has been lit" this past year, inspiring him to continue his NFL journey.

While Bridgewater's likely true value will be felt in the film room leading up to games and as a leader to the youth in the locker room, he believes he still has the on-field skills to help this team succeed. That's exactly what the current regime is looking for in a reserve quarterback, and it would take a lot for Altmyer to unseat him as QB2.

Can Altmyer force the Lions to keep three QBs on the active roster?

While Altmyer is almost certainly headed for the Lions' QB3 role, he'll have a chance to prove to coaches that the role deserves a spot on the 53-man roster rather than the practice squad, as has traditionally been the case.

Altmyer is a terrific fit for the Lions' West Coast system, which relies heavily on its quarterback being an accurate ball distributor. He possesses an NFL-level arm (in strength and touch), understands progression-based reads, has terrific timing with his throws, is decisive in his decision-making, and has high football IQ.

His experience in a pro-style system will give him an early advantage in showcasing his skill set, but Altmyer's success will likely hinge on how quickly he acclimates to NFL-level competition. He'll need to tweak some of his mechanics-taking deeper drops, improving his footwork, and handling pressure-but he has enough talent to make strides in these areas.

Altmyer will also have to overcome the fact that roster spots are hard to come by on a team expected to compete for division, conference, and league titles. The Lions roster is certainly in flux this offseason, but they're still deep enough that finding a spot on the active roster for a third quarterback may prove challenging.

Will the Lions add a fourth quarterback?

At this stage of the offseason, the Lions seem content with their decision to keep three quarterbacks on the 90-man roster and would likely add a fourth only in the event of injury or significant regression.

In 2024, the Lions added a fourth quarterback only after a training camp injury (Hooker suffered a concussion in the preseason), but Jake Fromm impressed enough during his short time with the team to earn a spot on the practice squad. In 2025, they carried only three quarterbacks, as Bethard was brought in after projected QB3, Hooker, elected to depart for Carolina's practice squad.

Essentially, don't expect the Lions to feel the need to add another player to the quarterbacks room unless something unexpected happens.