Hendon Hooker came to the Detroit Lions with plenty of hype, with some seeing him as a potential long-term starter after Jared Goff.
But Hooker’s tenure has been filled with ups and downs, while Goff has grown into one of the league’s top quarterbacks. The Lions even brought in some veteran competition for Hooker in the backup job, which could leave the former Tennessee quarterback as trade bait at the end of the summer.
Lions Want Hendon Hooker to Earn Job
Hooker had a slow start to his NFL career, spending most of his rookie season rehabbing a torn ACL that cut short his final season at Tennessee. Hooker returned for the 2024 season at full health but struggled to hold down the backup job, eventually losing out to veteran Teddy Bridgewater when he came out of retirement.
The Lions signed another veteran this offseason, Kyle Allen, and Lions general manager Brad Holmes said they want to see Hooker fight for the job.
“I mean, look, we like Hendon,” Holmes said, via USA Today’s Lions Wire. “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.”
If Allen should outplay Hooker this summer, the Lions could choose to trade the once highly regarded quarterback rather than stash him at the No. 3 spot or on the practice squad. Some analysts have floated that idea before, with Bleacher Report’s Matt Holder predicting last year that the Lions could look to trade Hooker and recoup some value.
“The Detroit Lions gave Jared Goff a contract extension this offseason, which pretty much ensures Hooker will be a backup throughout his rookie deal,” Holder wrote. “Trading last year’s third-round pick to a QB-needy team sooner rather than later would allow the front office to maximize its return for him.”
Lions High on Kyle Allen
The Lions seem comfortable going ahead with Allen as the backup to Goff if necessary. Unlike Hooker who only appeared in three games, Allen has extensive experience as an NFL starter. He started 12 games for the Carolina Panthers in 2019 and has a total of 19 NFL starts, completing 62.7% of his passes for 4,753 yards with 26 touchdowns and 21 interceptions.
Mark Brunell, Detroit’s quarterbacks coach, said the team loves when they see in Allen.
“What we saw in Kyle was a quarterback who has experience. He has played, he’s been on multiple teams, different systems, very smart,” Brunell said, via SI.com. “What I loved about the tape we saw (was) he made good decisions with the ball. He managed very well. You can tell he was operating within whatever offense that he was in, and just has a good grasp on how to play at this level and has for a while. In our room, being a resource for Jared. Always being ready, that’s at the top of the list if necessary, but be a good resource for Jared, another set of eyes.”
