'Nobody's going to be given a job' – Lions general manager gets real about former Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker's future in Detroit
There's been plenty of speculation over the last few months about how the Detroit Lions truly feel about former Tennessee Vols quarterback Hendon Hooker. Most of that speculation stems from the fact that Hooker, a third round selection by the Lions in the 2023 NFL Draft, was relegated to the No. 3 quarterback role in […]
There's been plenty of speculation over the last few months about how the Detroit Lions truly feel about former Tennessee Vols quarterback Hendon Hooker.
Most of that speculation stems from the fact that Hooker, a third round selection by the Lions in the 2023 NFL Draft, was relegated to the No. 3 quarterback role in the playoffs last season after Detroit signed quarterback Teddy Bridgewater out of retirement in December.
Bridgewater served as the primary backup to starter Jared Goff during the playoffs instead of Hooker.
Earlier this offseason, Detroit signed veteran quarterback Kyle Allen to seemingly serve as competition for Hooker, further complicating the outlook for the former Vol's future with the Lions.
On Monday, during the NFL league meetings in Florida, Lions general manager Brad Holmes met with reporters and he spoke at length about Hooker's future in Detroit.
"Still got high hopes for him, but nobody's going to be given a job, either," said Holmes. "So if Hendon wants to be the No. 2 quarterback, then [go] win the No. 2 quarterback job."
"I mean, look, we like Hendon, excited about him," added Holmes. "I've always said about Hendon, kind of a lot of steps on his journey coming out of high school and at Virginia Tech or Tennessee, it wasn't immediately [that] he was the guy. He had the injury (the torn ACL Hooker suffered at UT in 2022) that first year. Then last year, that was the first year that he kind of was able to do a full year training camp and during the season. And then we brought Teddy Bridgewater in just because we were gearing up for the playoffs and postseason. He just wasn't ready yet. And he understood that."
Competition certainly isn't a bad thing. Maybe it'll drive Hooker to take his game to another level this offseason.
Hooker, who turned 27 earlier this year, has two years remaining on his rookie contract with the Lions. There's no doubt that he'd like to prove himself as an NFL quarterback before hitting free agency in a couple of years.
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