The Detroit Lions recently wrapped up their 2025 preseason slate with a home loss to the Houston Texans, and now they can finally set their sights on the real things. The Lions have one of the league's better quarterbacks at the helm in Jared Goff, but there has been some question about what the team will do for the backup position, which was occupied by Hendon Hooker a season ago.
Recently, NFL insider Eric Woodyard of ESPN broke down how Hooker's backup spot may be in jeopardy as the season approaches.
“Throughout training camp, there was a real QB2 battle between backup Hendon Hooker and Kyle Allen, who signed in Detroit this offseason,” he reported. “…Allen has likely landed a spot on the Lions' final 53-man roster after outplaying Hooker to earn head coach Dan Campbell's trust throughout the preseason.”
Woodyard also noted that “Hooker entered the game in the second quarter, but it's unlikely that Detroit will keep three quarterbacks although the Lions selected Hooker with the 68th pick in the 2023 draft, making him the franchise's highest-drafted quarterback since Matthew Stafford went No. 1 in 2009. However, anything is possible.”
Tough times for Hendon Hooker
The last time Hendon Hooker was in the national spotlight was when he was the quarterback of the Tennessee Volunteers, leading them to an impressive 2022-23 season in which they were (very) briefly ranked number one in the country at one point.
However, Hooker's relatively old age as well as concerns about the torn ACL injury limited his draft stock the following year, and as of yet, he hasn't really gotten much of a chance to showcase his talents at the NFL level.
There's certainly a reasonable chance that if the Lions do end up parting ways with him, another team would be willing to give him a shot.
Meanwhile, the Lions are still led by quarterback Jared Goff, who put together a career year last season. There have been some concerns about how Goff will fare without offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, now the head coach of the Chicago Bears, calling the plays, but Detroit still looks to have one of the league's most lethal offensive attacks heading into the new season.
