The Detroit Lions have indicated they expect to have a quarterback battle behind starter Jared Goff during the 2025 offseason, but could they explore their trade options if neither one of their backup candidates wows them in training camp?
The Lions signed Goff to a four-year, $212 million contract extension last offseason that ties him to the team through the 2028 season, so there is little question he will open the forthcoming season as their starting quarterback without a surprise or injury occurring.
Behind Goff, though, the Lions are planning to let incumbent backup Hendon Hooker — a 2023 third-round pick — duke it out with veteran free-agent signing Kyle Allen for the No. 2 role on the depth chart in the months leading up to the start of the regular season.
Allen has experience, playing 31 games and making 19 starts in his first seven seasons, while Hooker is a former drafted talent with a skill set that continues to excite general manager Brad Holmes and his front office. But if the Lions reach the end of their OTAs and fear the competition isn’t strong enough, they could seek out another quarterback.
In that scenario, CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin believes the Lions could enter the fray as potential trade partners for Tennessee Titans third-year quarterback Will Levis in 2025.
“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 wrote. “Could coach Brian Callahan retain the big-armed youngster as Ward’s backup? Perhaps. But the Titans could save $1.6 million by trading Levis after June 1.”
Will Levis Has More Starts Than Lions’ Other Backups
If the Lions are looking for a low-cost trade option to add to their quarterback battle, Levis could realistically entice them — if they believe they can fix his glaring issues.
Disappointment has marred Levis’ time in Tennessee. The No. 33 overall pick found his way to the field midway through his rookie campaign in 2023, but he struggled to show more than sporadic flashes of his big-arm potential in nine starts, completing 58.4% of his passes for 1,808 yards with eight touchdowns and four interceptions as a starter.
While expectations grew for Levis in 2024 with him penciled in as the Week 1 starter, he did not take the step forward the Titans envisioned. He improved his completion percentage (63.1%) but remained turnover-prone, throwing 12 picks to 13 touchdowns and fumbling at least once in nine of his 12 starts. The Titans eventually benched him.
In the end, with the No. 1 pick in hand, the Titans decided to draft Ward as their new starter and push Levis to the back burner. But another team — such as the Lions — may feel that Levis’ cannon arm and toughness have enough upside to roll the dice on.
Per Over the Cap, Levis has also two seasons left on his four-year, $9.54 million rookie contract, meaning an acquiring team would have two more years of contract control over the former second-round pick with cap hits that never eclipse $3.1 million total. The trade cost is a separate matter, but the Titans likely won’t want a haul for a player whom they benched during the 2024 season and replaced with a No. 1 overall pick.
Is Trading for Will Levis Worth Assets for Lions in 2025?
The Lions are no strangers to taking chances on quarterbacks who have encountered their fair share of adversity in their early careers. In many ways, Goff fit that bill when they acquired him in the Matthew Stafford trade with the Los Angeles Rams in 2021.
Are the Lions in a position where trading assets for a backup quarterback makes sense for their roster-building plans in 2025, though? Not unless Hooker and Allen fall flat.
Through early OTAs, Hooker and Allen have done little to fall out of favor with Detroit’s coaching staff, even though the real competition will get underway in training camp. The Lions also drafted Hooker in the same class as Levis and, though he has played less, might feel that his skill set is superior for what they want in a developmental passer.
The Lions could re-evaluate their backup quarterbacks if they reach the end of camp and are not sold on either one of them. The Green Bay Packers did that in 2024 when their backups failed to impress in training camp, dealing a 2025 seventh-round pick to the Titans for Malik Willis. For the Lions, though, staying the course makes more sense.
After all, Goff is the priority for the Lions. And while they would like to have a quality backup plan in place in case the 30-year-old misses any time, Levis has simply not proven enough in his two seasons to look like a clear upgrade over Hooker and Allen.
