The Lions backup quarterback situation doesn't really need an addition right now.
For months, the Detroit Lions have been showing us they don't have a lot of confidence in Hendon Hooker as the No. 2 quarterback behind Jared Goff. And it's even not that they should, as the decision to take an older quarterback prospect who was coming off a torn ACL in the third round of the 2023 draft trends toward being a bad miss by general manager Brad Holmes.
Free agent signing Kyle Allen brings experience to the Lions' quarterback, and quarterbacks coach Mark Brunell recently backed up Holmes' earlier comments about Hooker having to earn the QB2 job.
"Nothing is given to you in the league and you've got to earn it. And once again, Hendon finds himself in a position where he's going to have to earn that second spot", Brunell said, via the Detroit Free Press. And it starts now, and obviously it's preseason, but it's our OTAs, it's anytime we're on the field, it's all of that. And he's off to a very good start, which is good. He’s getting better.”
Largley because Nate Sudfeld proved he was not good enough to keep around, Hooker eventually won the No. 2 quarterback job for the Lions last year. Not that Allen is a markedly better quarterback than Sudfeld, but it's unlikely he'll be so unremarkable in training camp and preseason games that a competition with Hooker becomes moot again.
Lions would be better off to stick with status quo than entertain this QB2 option
Depending on who is or ends up being available, the Lions could pivot to someone else as Goff's backup at final roster cuts before the season starts. It wouldn't be the first time this regime has done that. But there should be, and definitely will be, some discretion exercised if those options are explored. Some potential options just would not fit, for reasons beyond sheer talent.
Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports recently listed some top post-June 1 trade or cut candidates, with predictions for what will happen with each. It's no secret Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis is available if a suitable trade can be found.
"The Tennessee Titans aren't rushing to move on from the former second-round pick, at least publicly, but ever since the club's new regime spent this year's No. 1 overall pick on Cam Ward, the writing has been on the wall."
Benjamin listed the Lions as one of three potential landing spots for Levis, though not as the team he predicts to ultimately trade for him (the Tampa Bay Buccaneers got that distinction).
A second-round pick by the Titans in 2023, Levis has made 21 starts for them over the last two seasons, with 21 touchdown passes, 16 interceptions and 17 fumbles. He has also had one of the ten highest turnover-worthy play rates in the league in each of those seasons among quarterbacks who played at least 150 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.
Dan Campbell would find new variations of swear words if Levis became the Lions' No. 2 quarterback and was forced to play meaningful snaps. It's fair to assume that level of aggravation will not invited.
If Levis were cut by Tennessee at some point, then it might be a different conversation for the Lions. But he's not even a "YOLO" level of interesting as a backup quarterback option, with a lot of play thus far in his career that's been almost as vomit-inducing as some of his known eating habits.
It says it all about Levis that the status quo battle between Hooker and Allen feels more solid to produce a suitable backup to Goff. But that's where we are, and where the Lions should be regarding the idea of trading for a quarterback the Titans would love to offload to someone.
