Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell revealed Monday that rookie quarterback Hendon Hooker could begin practicing as early as this week.
Hooker, the third-round pick out of Tennessee, has been on the reserve/non-football injury list (NFI) since July and is recovering from a torn ACL he sustained during his senior season last November.
“I think we will,” Campbell said, when asked if the team would start Hooker’s practice window, per Justin Rogers of The Detroit News. “[General manager] Brad [Holmes] and I talked about it last week.”
Hooker has been present in meetings throughout the season despite not being able to practice. Campbell said it will be “big” to finally get the 25-year-old on the practice field.
“By rules, we can’t coach him,” Campbell said. “We can have him in meetings, but he can’t be out there and going through any fundamental work. You just kind of got to stand there. That’s where it helps, to be able to actually do individual work with him, have him take a snap. That’s why it’s big. It would be nice to be able to do some of those things with him. That’s why you have to get him on the roster. Otherwise, the rules don’t allow for him to do any of that.”
Once Hooker begins practicing, the Lions have three weeks to decide to add him to the active roster or place him on season-ending injured reserve.
Hendon Hooker inching closer to practice debut with Lions
Hooker, who transferred to Tennessee from Virginia Tech following the 2020 season, was one of the best quarterbacks in the nation during his two seasons in Knoxville. In 24 games, he threw for 6,080 yards, 58 touchdowns and five interceptions on 68.9% passing. Hooker was one of the favorites for the 2022 Heisman Trophy before the injury. He finished fifth in voting.
Holmes said he fell in love with Hooker after seeing him outduel former Florida and current Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson last season.
“There were things that I saw in that live game that you can’t see on tape,” Holmes said, per Kyle Meinke of MLive.com. “It was his urgency, and his tempo throughout the game. He was playing very, very urgent. He was playing violent in the run game… Playing violent in that passing game. I just kind of like the nature of the way he was playing.
“And there were little things that kind of stood out to me in terms of, you know, he’d score a touchdown, and instead of him being on the bench with the headset on, or talking to the coach in the box, he’s standing on the sideline waiting to congratulate his extra-point team. It’s little things like that, that show what kind of person he (is).”