Lions Sign QB Hendon Hooker

Detroit Lions announce signing of quarterback Hendon Hooker.

The Detroit Lions announced they have signed quarterback Hendon Hooker. 

The former Tennessee Volunteers quarterback is the third player from the Lions' 2023 draft class to ink a rookie deal. 

It was previously reported that the team had signed wideout Antoine Green and offensive lineman Colby Sorsdal. 

According to NFL Films senior producer Greg Cosell, "Hooker's 2021 and 2022 tape showed a tall athletic strong-armed QB with the arm strength and throwing traits to effectively work the intermediate and deeper levels of the field and excellent mobility to make second reaction plays."

At Tennessee, the no-huddle and fast-paced offense appealed to Detroit general manager Brad Holmes and the coaching staff during their evaluation process. 

Cosell told the team's website, "Hooker ran a relatively pure version of the Air Raid passing game with its emphasis on no huddle fast tempo and widespread formations and pure progression reads where a QB is not taught to understand the subtleties and nuances of specific defenses and coverages and a high percentage of the throws are pre-determined." 

Another aspect of Hooker's game that is appealing to the Lions is his mobility, as many of the quarterbacks coming out of college do possess dual-threat ability. 

"Hooker's running ability will be a positive as he learns how to play NFL QB and it could well be the reason he is viewed as an intriguing prospect even though you wouldn't say he is twitchy or explosive as a runner but he has size and strength and some wiggle to be a factor in the open field," Cosell explained.

Along with three 2023 draft picks, it was reported the team also has signed 15 undrafted free agents.