Hendon Hooker's fate in Detroit appears all but sealed after Lions' preseason contest against the Miami Dolphins

Former Tennessee Vols quarterback Hendon Hooker has had a poor preseason thus far in 2025, and that's on top of a mostly lackluster start to his career this far in the Motor City since being drafted in the third round by the Detroit Lions in the 2023 NFL Draft.

As such, with Kyle Allen - whom he's battling for the QB2 job in Detroit - surging, Hooker desperately needed a strong game in the team's third preseason game against the Miami Dolphins on Saturday. Not just that, but he needed to outperform Allen in the process, as the former outdueled him the week before.

That simply didn't happen in Detroit's 24-17 loss to Miami. Allen, who drew the start, outshone Hooker, completing 14 of 17 passes for 124 yards and 2 touchdowns in the first half. He led a 2-minute scoring drive right before the end of the first half, moving the Lions 83 yards in 1:20 and finding Isaac TeSlaa for an 18-yard touchdown to give the Lions a 14-7 halftime lead.

Conversely, Hooker came in and struggled to start the second half, taking two quick sacks and struggling to get anything going in the passing game for most of the half. He did get the Lions moving on the game's final drive but a swing pass to a tight end was intercepted by a leaping linebacker. He finished 6/13 for 51 yards passing with an interception.

With the emergency QB rule, teams do not have to carry three QBs on their active roster, and that's why Detroit kept only 2 QBs last year when they announced their 53-man roster after the conclusion of the preseason.

There's still one preseason game left, but through three preseason games, it's clearly Jared Goff and Allen as 1-2 at quarterback, and that means that Hooker appears destined for either the practice squad, or perhaps out of town altogether.