It was inevitable, and it's now official. With the Detroit Lions agreeing to terms with Jared Goff on a four-year contract extension, any chance Hendon Hooker has to be an NFL starting quarterback will come elsewhere.
Hooker is an unknown quantity, having spent most of his rookie season last year working his way back from a torn ACL late in his final college season. He is in line to be Goff's primary backup this year, but as an older incoming prospect who's now 26 years old he will not play meaningful game snaps unless Goff is injured. By the time his rookie contract ends, with three years left on it right now, it's possible he will not have played a regular season snap at all upon turning 29 years old in January of 2027.
Having a capable backup quarterback is important, and for the Lions it's more important than it is for a lot of teams. If Goff goes down, their Super Bowl aspirations for this year would go down with him. But it's unknown if Hooker is a capable backup, even if his latent potential far exceeds Nate Sudfeld's.
The wisdom of drafting Hooker, with his older age and coming off a major injury in mind, can be questioned with the Lions never wavering from declaring Goff is their guy long-term. It's hard to see him demanding a trade in the way we think of players doing that, but Hooker is now a tradeable asset if nothing else.
Hooker won't be traded before training camp, most likely. Other teams have his college tape pre-injury as a reference point, and the preseason will be an opportunity to showcase himself for a potential trade if the Lions will entertain it. On that preseason premise, these five teams could have a trade for Hooker land on their radar.
5 teams who could trade for Hendon Hooker
5. New York Jets
The Jets drafted a theoretical successor to Aaron Rodgers this year in Jordan Travis, who may have been drafted earlier if not for an injury of his own in his final college season. They are automatically all-in for as long as Rodgers is their quarterback, but how long that will be is largely up to his whims and desires.
Multiple fliers on a potential quarterback of the future in this offseason wouldn't be an awful idea for the Jets, but big changes could also come next offseason if things go off the rails this season.
The Lions, if they are willing to trade Hooker, might try to do him a favor and not send him into a dysfunctional situation. The Jets personify dysfunction, either real or seemingly percolating close to the surface. But they could become interested in Hooker very quickly come the preseason, and make an offer the Lions can't refuse.
4. Los Angeles Rams
Matthew Stafford doesn't appear ready to retire anytime soon, as he makes a push for guaranteed money in his contract beyond this year. But the Rams have toyed with the idea of who Stafford's successor will be, drafting Stetson Bennett in the fourth round last year. Jimmy Garoppolo came in on a one-year deal this offseason to backup Stafford, and he's also suspended for the first two games this season.
General manager Brad Holmes' long history in the Rams' front office could play a role in a potential deal here. The Rams need to consider who will backup Stafford when Garoppolo is unavailable or on some level who will eventually replace Stafford, and Hooker could make a lot of sense on both fronts.
3. New Orleans Saints
The Saints are basically married to Derek Carr for the next two years, though they could make a move to part ways next offseason if things particularly don't go well this season. They did draft Spencer Rattler as their potential quarterback of the future, but other than that the depth chart is....let's just say uninspiring (Jake Haener, Nathan Peterman).
It's easy to put Hooker in a similar place as Rattler, in terms of development to do and being an unknown quantity as a future starter. But the Saints can rationale a trade for Hooker if they want to, if if only to add more talent to their depth chart behind Carr.
2. New York Giants
The Giant seem to be sticking with Daniel Jones, but the idea Drew Lock could make a push for the starting job is already surfacing and not going away. They passed on taking a quarterback anywhere in this year's draft, despite the obvious questions about Jones' future. An ill-advised four-year, $160 million contract has them in a bad (tricky) spot.
But there is no guaranteed salary left in Jones' contract after this year. $12 million of his $30 million base salary for 2025 becomes fully guaranteed on March 15, 2025 (according to Over The Cap), so there is an escape path if they want it.
The Giants are headed for a reset under center, one way or another. A trade flier on Hooker could easily become something they consider, if only based on his perceived ceiling. The Lions' first preseason game is against the Giants on the road, and that could be preceded by joint practices.
The Giants literally will have an opportunity to see Hooker up close during the preseason like no other team quite will. They also had "genuine interest" in Hooker leading into the 2023 draft.
1. Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders simply missed on getting a quarterback in this year's draft. Any efforts to trade up for Jayden Daniels (who head coach Antonio Pierce know from their time at Arizona State) never seemed to get traction, and by the time their first-round pick came the top options were gone.
So the Raiders are left with Aidan O'Connell and Gardner Minshew to compete for the starting job this year. O'Connell has a faint chance to seize the gig and be their quarterback of the future, but his upside is easily debatable.
The Raiders perpetually tried to upgrade on Derek Carr when Jon Gruden was back as the head coach, and they've still not gotten it done. Hooker is at least interesting in a way none of their current quarterbacks are-a potential future option with high upside until he shows otherwise.
