It feels like this is an ongoing saga that gets talked about way more than any other backup quarterback gets talked about. Maybe it’s because the Detroit Lions drafted Hendon Hooker in the third-round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell put out article where he’s predicting roster turnover for the 14 playoff teams from this season. For the Lions, he’s saying Hooker stands out as the only candidate he thinks could be released by Detroit.
“The Lions don’t have anybody playing meaningful snaps who sticks out as a likely cap casualty. One potential candidate is the 27-year-old Hooker, who has thrown nine passes in two years. It seems telling that the Lions signed a quasi-retired Bridgewater at the end of the season and quickly pushed him ahead of Hooker on the depth chart, a move which ended up mattering when Jared Goff briefly left the playoff loss to the Commanders.
Hooker is owed only $1.3 million in unguaranteed money in 2025, but he’s too inexperienced to be a reliable backup and too old to be a quarterback of the future, especially after Goff signed an extension last May.”
Ok, let’s break this down. On one side of the argument, Barnwell’s statement is totally understandable. Hooker has just not been working out in Detroit and the Lions have been both verbally telling you that and have been showing it with their actions.
They spent the summer telling us that they didn’t feel Hooker was ready yet and then had their eyes out for other quarterbacks like Daniel Jones and then eventually signed Teddy Bridgewater weeks before the playoffs and put him in front of Hooker. It’s pretty solid proof that they didn’t feel they could trust him if they needed to.
On the other hand, a release just doesn’t make a lot of sense. There isn’t much to be gained from this, it’s not like Hooker is weighing heavy on the cap. For that reason, they might see what he can do for a third year.
But then you’d have to factor in that a third year is almost like starting over again. Hooker just lost Ben Johnson and Tanner Engstrand and Mark Brunell are likely to be gone as well. He’s basically going to have to start over again.
The best thing for both parties and especially for Hooker would be a trade to a team in which Hooker has a better chance to play in the NFL. Right now he’s in the worst spot possible. Does that mean he potentially goes to the Bears to be back with Johnson or does it mean you send him to a team with quarterback troubles and no clear end in sight? Teams like the Jets, Raiders, Browns, or Saints.
What could you get for Hooker at this point? If we’re looking at things totally realiscially, it’s not going to be much. Take a look at these quarterback trades from this past season.
- Bears send Justin Field to the Steelers for a conditional 2025 sixth-round pick
- Jets send Zach Wilson to the Broncos for a 2024 seventh-round and 2024 sixth-round pick
- Steelers send Kenny Picket and a 2024 fourth-round pick to the Eagles for two 2025 seventh-round picks and a 2024 third-round pick
- Titans send Malik Willis to the Packers for a 2025 seventh-round pick
I mean there you go. Those moves say it all. With the exception of Willis, those guys are all first-round picks and they weren’t fetching much, plus they all actually played.
The Lions’ best bet would be the get a fifth-round pick for Hooker, it’s more likely that they would get a sixth-round pick with maybe some conditions attached that could make that pick a higher pick if Hooker were able to meet some playing time requirements or he made the roster of whatever team he’s traded to. We’ll see what happens in the coming weeks.