Thanksgiving Star Lions David Blough Retires and Joins Commanders as a Coach
With the Detroit Lions during the holidays, David Blough had a breakout season in 2019.

He’s now trading in his cleats for a clipboard and joining the Washington Commanders as a coach.

According to a statement from the team, the seasoned quarterback declared his retirement and joined the Washington Commanders as a coach right away. Blough will work as head coach Dan Quinn’s assistant quarterbacks coach, reporting to Tavita Pritchard.

Blough, a 2019 Purdue graduate who entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent, went on to have a four-year career. The fact that he made his first career start the following Thanksgiving while playing for the Detroit Lions is arguably what made him most famous.

Against the Chicago Bears, he completed his first pass of the season, a 75-yard scoring pass to Kenny Golliday. He became the first quarterback from the Lions since 2002 and only the 29th undrafted quarterback in NFL history to pass for two touchdowns in his first career start when he found Marvin Jones for another.

In 2019, Blough started five games as a stand-in for an ailing Matthew Stafford, passing for 984 yards and four touchdowns. Before going to Arizona in 2022, when he made two more starts when Kyler Murray and Colt McCoy were sidelined for the Cardinals, he played as a reserve quarterback for two more seasons in Detroit. Blough was a member of the Lions practice squad the whole season.

Blough will probably assist in the development of a new franchise quarterback in Washington. After a 4-13 season, the Commanders are expected to part ways with incumbent Sam Howell and may decide to select a passer with the second overall choice of the next draft.