Fans that are hoping their favorite team signs former Tennessee Vols QB Hendon Hooker may be in for a rude awakening
Former Tennessee Vols quarterback Hendon Hooker probably isn't going to win the Detroit Lions' backup quarterback job.
Hooker has been outplayed by veteran Kyle Allen in Detroit's first three preseason games. With just one preseason game remaining, it seems unlikely that Hooker will be able to do enough to leap frog Allen in this battle -- especially after hearing comments from Lions head coach Dan Campbell following Detroit's most recent preseason game.
“Yeah, I mean, he’s playing better, he’s playing better,” said Campbell when asked if it’s Allen’s job to lose. “So I would say that right now…if you had to go in with the two (No. 2 QB) right now, who would you trust more? Yeah, I would trust Kyle more because he’s proven more after these two games. But we’re still going to coach Hooker up."
Some fans have assumed that if Allen wins the job, Detroit will try to sneak Hooker onto their practice squad — giving other franchises the opportunity to sign the former Vol.
Thanks to his strong 2022 season with the Vols, Hooker is still viewed as a player with significant upside, despite an up-and-down start to his time with the Lions.
Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, however, thinks the Lions could actually choose to keep Hooker on the 53-man roster as the No. 3 quarterback, which would protect Detroit from losing the third-year quarterback.
"Hendon Hooker may not win the Detroit Lions backup quarterback job, but I wouldn't count him out for a roster spot just yet," wrote Birkett on Tuesday. "Hooker has done some good things in practice this summer and is a perceptibly better quarterback today than he was a season ago."
Birkett noted that Hooker played well in Detroit's intrasquad scrimmage on Tuesday.
"On Tuesday, Hooker led the Lions' second-team offense on a short scoring drive against the first-team defense and was the only one of the team's three quarterbacks to move the ball in the first four possessions of the offense backed up inside its own 15-yard line," pointed out Birkett.
"Hooker should get the start and an extended look against the Texans (in final preseason game) and has a strong case to make the team as the No. 3 quarterback," added Birkett.
If Hooker has a decent final preseason showing, it sounds like it could be enough to keep the Greensboro native in Detroit for at least the time being.
