'They damaged him' – Detroit media personality makes strong statement about former Tennessee Vols QB Hendon Hooker
Former Tennessee Vols quarterback Hendon Hooker is at a crossroads with the Detroit Lions. Hooker, a third round selection by the Lions in the 2023 NFL Draft, was expected to secure a role as Detroit's top backup quarterback last season. For a while, it looked like that's exactly what was going to happen. But late […]
Former Tennessee Vols quarterback Hendon Hooker is at a crossroads with the Detroit Lions.
Hooker, a third round selection by the Lions in the 2023 NFL Draft, was expected to secure a role as Detroit's top backup quarterback last season.
For a while, it looked like that's exactly what was going to happen. But late in the season, the Lions signed quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.
Bridgewater, who retired from the NFL after the 2023 season, spent the 2024 regular season as a high school football coach in Florida before coming out of retirement.
When starting quarterback Jared Goff was forced from the Lions' playoff game against the Washington Commanders due to injury, it was Bridgewater who entered the game instead of Hooker.
That decision by the Lions seems to indicate that they don't fully believe in Hooker. And if that's the case after two full seasons in Detroit, it seems unlikely that Hooker will be much of a factor for the Lions during the final two seasons of his rookie contract.
The obvious move for Detroit would be to trade Hooker to a quarterback needy team. But as Woodward Sports Network's Tom Mazaway pointed out this week, trading Hooker after what transpired in the playoffs won't be easy for the Lions.
"Don't you think they damaged him a little by what they did in the playoffs," said Mazaway. "I mean, they damaged him. Because teams know. And if you're making this kid your benchwarmer, your emergency quarterback in a playoff game, and your quarterback goes down with a concussion — because Goff was concussed. He was playing concussed the rest of that game. To not bring your [second year] third round pick in, that's completely healthy, to make him your emergency quarterback that day, that means the only way he would've played is if one of the quarterbacks, either Goff or Bridgewater, would have been ruled out for the game….so by the Lions dissing Hendon Hooker, I don't think he has any trade value. A seventh round pick, that's all he's worth right now."
It's a tough spot for Hooker. He hasn't had much of chance to show anything on film to entice other teams to trade for him. We learned at Tennessee that Hooker is a bit of a gamer (Hooker lost the quarterback battle to Joe Milton in 2021, but he quickly proved to be a better game-day option than Milton), but no one in the NFL is going to trade for a gamer when they haven't seen it in action on Sundays.
Hooker is already 27 years old. He'll be 29 when he reaches free agency for the first time. If he's going to have any chance of landing a multi-year deal in free agency, he needs to see the field. Otherwise, he'll likely be looking at a one-year deal to be a No. 3 quarterback, which means he'll be battling for a roster spot.
The Lions, so far, have completely wasted their selection of Hooker in the 2023 NFL Draft.
