This NFC East Team Could Trade for Lions QB Hendon Hooker

Why the New York Giants could be interested in Hendon Hooker.

Detroit Lions quarterback Hendon Hooker / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

The New York Giants will likely have an opportunity to evaluate where quarterback Hendon Hooker is at in his development.

For the former third-round pick, his playing future might not be with the Lions. The organization has made a significant financial commitment to Jared Goff.

Justin Melo of The Draft Network recently included the Giants on his list of teams that could be interested in the second-year quarterback.

"The Giants passed on opportunities to draft J.J. McCarthy, Bo Nix, or Michael Penix Jr. in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft despite facing questions over Daniel Jones’ future. Jones’ 2023 season failed to meet expectations after he signed a four-year, $160 million extension last offseason," Melo explained.

Detroit will start the preseason this year playing on the road against the Giants.

The Lions have expressed interest in potentially having joint practices with the Giants again this year in New York. Last year, Brian Daboll's squad visited the Lions Allen Park practice facility for two joint practices prior to a preseason game at Ford Field.

"Jones has no guaranteed money remaining on his contract following the conclusion of this season, but an injury guarantee would be triggered for 2025 if Jones gets hurt and can’t pass a physical. We’ve seen similar situations lead to benchings around the league (Russell Wilson in Denver, Derek Carr in Vegas). It’s precisely why the Giants added Drew Lock earlier this offseason. Hooker could give the Giants an alternative option with a higher ceiling."

Goff has expressed interest in finishing his career in Detroit after signing a four-year contract extension that places him among the highest-paid signal-callers in the NFL.

"I would love for that to be the case," Goff told 97.1 The Ticket. "I think that was my main thing going into the contract stuff was creating a security and that commitment from both my side and the team’s side. I think they were totally on board with it from the get-go, it was just a matter of time, of hammering out the details and getting us to the right spot with the numbers. That was something that was in there from the get-go and they were on board with. Again, that’s not something that’s atypical from quarterback contracts nowadays, I believe everyone puts a no-trade clause in there. But yeah, something that was important to me.”

Additional reading

1.) Updated Lions Salary Cap After Massive Extensions

2.) Ranking Lions 2024 Opponents

3.) Lions Favored in Majority of 2024 NFL Games