Following the retirement of Detroit Lions backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, undrafted rookie Luke Altmyer has a major opportunity in Detroit's first 2026 preseason game at the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday night. Lions head coach Dan Campbell said quarterback Jared Goff and most of the starters won't play against the Bengals, which comes as no surprise given that the three-game exhibition slate is traditionally meant to identify who is cut out for the final 53-man roster. "First of all, best wishes to (Bridgewater)," Altmyer said after practice on Aug. 9. "I'm so thankful to spend time with him and (Goff), obviously, learning from both of them, different perspectives (and) different outlooks on how they see things. It was a joy to spend some time with him. "But it brings about opportunity for myself. The standard is to play good football no matter how many reps or whatever my role is. I have a job to do, and my job is to do that very well, at a high level. I'm thankful and believe in my abilities and I'm going to go cut it loose, whatever that looks like."
Altmyer started 35 games over the last three years at Illinois, completing more than 60% of his passes in each season. The 6-foot-1, 213-pound signal-caller threw for 7,924 yards and 60 touchdowns in his collegiate career. After going undrafted this past April, Altmyer signed a three-year, $3.11 million contract with the Lions that included a $10,000 signing bonus and $257,500 guaranteed. "Yeah, thought he did some really good things," Campbell said of Altmyer's play recently during training camp. "He was put in some really tough positions for a young player that you absolutely have to be put in, you just do. You've got to be thrust in it and really you need to fail, you need to make mistakes so that you can grow. "We thought he handled it really well, we did. He had a delay of game, there were a couple of misreads. But man, that's part of growth. But what you feel like right now, we'll know a lot more when we get in the games. It doesn't feel too big to him right now. And that's a great sign at that position. So, we'll see, he's got a long way to go and he just needs a million reps." Altmyer and the Lions will face the Bengals at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Thursday, Aug. 13, with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast locally on Fox 2 Detroit (WJBK) and the Lions TV Network, with play-by-play announcer Jack Kizer, color analyst T.J. Lang, and sideline reporter Patti Cesarini on the call. Out-of-market fans can watch Thursday's preseason action via an NFL+ subscription. Fans can purchase a monthly NFL+ plan for $6.99. For more Lions coverage, follow us on X, @TheLionsWire, and give our Facebook page a like. Follow Scout on X: @SpringgateNews This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: Lions QB Luke Altmyer eager for NFL preseason debut vs. Bengals