Before a torn ACL late in his final college season while playing for Tennessee, Hendon Hooker was in the Heisman Trophy conversation and potentially in line to be a high draft pick. But the Detroit Lions took him in the third round (No. 68 overall) in the 2023 draft, knowing he was coming off a major injury, had a lot of development to do and was an older prospect.
Fast forward to now. Hooker is halfway through his rookie contract, and he's 27 years old with nine regular season pass attempts (33 regular season snaps) on his resume. He got some garbage time run in three games this season, then he was usurped by late signee Teddy Bridgewater as Jared Goff's backup for the Divisional Round game against the Washington Commanders. And Goff is under contract through 2028 via the lucrative extension he signed last offseason.
The Lions, through actions as much as words (they were reported to have interest in Daniel Jones during the season), have made it pretty clear they don't see Hooker as their best backup quarterback option looking toward next season. If he's not a virtual lock to be No. 2 on the depth chart, there's not much point in having him on the roster. The time to seriously question using a top-75 overall pick on him looks to be now.
Knowing his situation in Detroit , Hooker may welcome a change of scenery. ESPN's Bill Barnwell seems to think he's a viable cut candidate for the Lions this offseason, but that idea misses the broader point of Hooker as a potential trade asset.
There are teams out there who liked Hooker going into the 2023 draft, with a report back then that some teams had him as third-best quarterback prospect in that class. To some degree, that should be the starting point for teams who could trade for him now.
In any case, the Lions should be open to trade offers for Hooker and general manager Brad Holmes might even try to initiate those conversations. It's not about getting a big return, since a conditional Day 3 draft pick feels like what it'll be, it's about moving Hooker along to the prospect of a better situation and getting something for him.
These five teams might be in the mix, or desperate enough?, to take a gamble on Hooker in a trade.
5 teams who could make the Lions a trade offer for Hendon Hooker
5. Tennessee Titans
Hooker's draft classmate Will Levis has already shown he's probably not the answer under center for the Titans, and with the No. 1 overall pick in April's draft they don't seem married to taking a quarterback (as they shouldn't necessarily be, truly).
The Titans could attack the quarterback position in a number of ways this offseason, up to and including clearing the way to give Levis one more shot as the starter next season. Adding Hooker to the mix wouldn't be out of the question regardless, especially with the risk of giving up a conditional Day 3 pick being next to nil.
4. New Orleans Saints
The Saints should be looking to move off of Derek Carr this offseason, if they can. Even if they keep him. they need to figure out who their quarterback will be down the road. Spencer Rattler could be that guy, but that's at best unclear.
The Saints, as usual, are up against it in terms of cap space entering this offseason no matter what happens with Carr. They'll figure it out as they always do (and have to), but acquiring players on the cheaper side is likely going to be a natural part of the agenda.
Giving up a conditional late-round pick to see what Hooker might have, under the guidance of potential new head coach Kellen Moore, feels like a no-brainer for the Saints to consider.
3. Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys traded a fourth-round pick to the 49ers for Trey Lance in August of 2023. Then when Dak Prescott went down to injury this season, with Lance in the final year of his contract, they went with Cooper Rush, under the flimsy premise of "gives us the best chance to win" in a season that was clearly not going to go anywhere. Until it finally, completely didn't matter in Week 18, and Lance got the start then.
Jerry Jones might be the worst general manager in the NFL at this point, taking everything into account, and of course he'll never fire himself since he's also the Cowboys' owner. If the Lions are going to have any chance to get the more than they really should for Hooker it'll most likely be from Dallas, so Holmes should have a call to Jones on his radar if he ends up proactively initiating those trade talks.
2. Las Vegas Raiders
As Ben Johnson seemed most likely to become the Raiders' head coach, the idea he may want to bring Hooker with him to Las Vegas was out there and it made a lot of sense. Of course Johnson wound up becoming the Chicago Bears' head coach instead, but the Raiders still have significant quarterback questions short and long-term under new head coach Pete Carroll. Aidan O'Connell and Gardner Minshew are not the ideal answer.
The Raiders are very likely to draft a quarterback in April, whatever that looks like. But they should leave no stones unturned to add to or reshape the quarterback room overall. Hooker is a no-risk addition that could easily end up being somewhere on the radar, even though Johnson is not their head coach.
1. New York Jets
The Jets have to address the Aaron Rodgers elephant in the room before they do anything else this offseason. New head coach (and former Lions defensive coordinator) Aaron Glenn unsurprisingly made it clear he intends to waste no time to figure it out.
It seems unlikely Rodgers will be back with the Jets next season. So a rebuild/re-stock of the quarterback depth chart is looming, with all kinds of options possible.
Along with going from Detroit to New York himself, Glenn has hired Lions' tight ends coach Steve Heiden as his offensive line coach and as of this writing it's a matter of time before Lions' passing game coordinator Tanner Engstrand is officially the Jets' new offensive coordinator. A cradle of former Lions' coaches in New York could be a nice situation for Hooker, and they also should leave no stones unturned in the search for a viable quarterback.
