The signs have been there, dating back to training camp last summer. As Hendon Hooker struggled to usurp Nate Sudfeld in the battle to be Jared Goff's primary backup, the Detroit Lions invited the idea of keeping three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster. Sudfeld was eventually swapped out for Jake Fromm, who spent last season on the practice squad.
Hooker saw action in three blowout wins last season, but those were naturally limited opportunities to show what he can do. There was reported interest from the Lions in Daniel Jones as he was nearing being waived by the New York Giants, but he chose to sign with the Vikings.
Then late in the season, the Lions brought Teddy Bridgewater back with the idea that his one career playoff start was ideal for the "different world" (Dan Campbell's words) the team was about to enter.
Then Bridgewater was elevated over Hooker as the No. 2 quarterback for the playoff game against the Washington Commanders. Since then, trading Hooker or releasing him has been easy to bring up.
It's also clear the Lions haven't handled Hooker all that well in recent months, while effectively crushing any trade value he might have.
Brad Holmes basically confirmed Hendon Hooker may not be on the Lions' roster by the time the 2025 season starts
ESPN's Ben Solak recently pulled no punches to outline what the Lions signing quarterback Kyle Allen revealed about Hooker.
"The Lions are making it clear they do not trust Hendon Hooker. They replaced him at QB2 with Teddy Bridgewater last season once Bridgewater was done coaching his way to a high school championship, and Hooker will now battle with Allen for the same job. At this point, I'd be surprised if the 2023 third-round pick becomes a reliable backup anywhere. The Lions probably need a new developmental QB of the future."
Speaking at the NFL Owner's Meetings on Monday, general manager Brad Holmes also pulled no punches to declare Hooker's tenuous status as the Lions' No. 2 quarterback.
"We like Hendon, excited about him,” Holmes said, via Jeremy Reisman of Pride of Detroit. “I’ve always said about Hendon, you know, kind of a lot of steps on his journey coming out of high school and, you know, at Virginia Tech or Tennessee, like, it wasn’t immediately he was the guy. So, you know, he had the injury that first year, then last year that was the first year that he kind of was able to do a full year of training camp and during the season. And then we brought Teddy Bridgewater in just because we were gearing up for the playoffs. and postseason and he just wasn’t ready yet, you know? And he understood that. But still got high hopes for him, but nobody’s gonna be given a job either.”
Holmes confirmed Allen is direct competition for Hooker, and per ESPN's Eric Woodyard, "if Hendon wants to be the No. 2 quarterback then win the No. 2 quarterback job."
On his fourth team in as many seasons and his sixth team in eight seasons since coming into the league as an undrafted free agent, Allen defines the term "journeyman backup quarterback." There's nothing wrong with that ($8.7 million in career earnings), but it also means Hooker should be able to beat him out for the No. 2 quarterback spot.
If Hooker can't beat out Allen to be Goff's immediate backup, that will say it all. The mistake of drafting an older quarterback prospect who was coming off a major injury in the top-70 overall will be fully confirmed. And with that, unless he can be traded after losing the battle with Allen, Hooker could be (and arguably should be) cut.
