Lions' Best-Case Scenario for Hendon Hooker

Evaluating the Lions' best-case scenario with backup QB Hendon Hooker.

Hendon Hooker / Junfu Han, USA TODAY NETWORK

Jared Goff, with his massive, new contract, is firmly entrenched as the Detroit Lions’ franchise quarterback for the foreseeable future. 

Detroit inked the veteran passer to a four-year, $212 million deal Monday, making him the highest-paid Lions player in franchise history. 

Subsequently, Hendon Hooker – the expected primary backup to Goff in 2024 – won't be seeing the field anytime soon.

Hooker, the No. 68 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft out of the University of Tennessee, spent the majority of last season rehabbing a torn ACL.

Prior to the ACL injury that Hooker suffered in his final season with the Volunteers, he was a Heisman Trophy candidate and a potential first-round draft pick.

In 11 games during the 2022 campaign, the dual-threat signal-caller accounted for 3,135 yards and 27 touchdowns through the air, while adding another 430 yards and five scores as a runner. For his efforts during the aforementioned season, he was named the SEC Offensive Player of the Year.

Additionally, upon being drafted a year ago, ESPN NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said the former Tennessee passer has an “NFL arm” and "can extend plays” with his legs.

Hooker, although in just his second NFL season, is already 26 years old after spending the first four years of his collegiate career at Virginia Tech and the final two at Tennessee. That could be viewed as a negative in the eyes of some NFL teams.

On the flip side, though, Hooker is still considered to be packed with potential, and if given the opportunity, could make an impact at the NFL level. It just doesn't seem like it will come with the Lions.

At this present juncture, the best-case scenario for Hooker is for Detroit to play him as much as possible in its three preseason games, so that he has an ample chance to prove his worth.

If the second-year pro were to then shine during the preseason, it'd be beneficial not only to him but also to the Lions. It'd improve Hooker's stock as Detroit's backup signal-caller, but also increase his value to the rest of the NFL and make it easier for Brad Holmes & Co. to find a trade partner for him. This, to me, would be the definition of a win-win situation for the Volunteers product and the Lions.

Detroit could then more easily deal the dual-threat QB and garner a valuable draft asset for him (i.e. a fourth-or-fifth-round pick). Meanwhile, in such a scenario, Hooker would get the chance to make a name for himself with another franchise, one which would likely have a more direct path for him to start.

Don't get me wrong, it’d be valuable to have Hooker as Goff's understudy and backup this upcoming season. However, if I were Holmes and had the chance to deal the ex-Tennessee quarterback for a fourth-round pick (maybe even a third-rounder from a QB-desperate team), I'd be hard-pressed not to pull the trigger.