Hendon Hooker’s fate in Detroit appears all but sealed after Lions’ preseason contest against the Miami Dolphins
The writing is on the wall for the former Tennessee QB in the Motor City
Former Tennessee Vols quarterback Hendon Hooker has had a poor preseason thus far in 2025. That’s on top of a mostly lackluster start to his career in the Motor City since being selected in the third round by the Detroit Lions in the 2023 NFL Draft.
As such, with Kyle Allen — whom he’s battling for the QB2 job in Detroit — surging, Hooker desperately needed a strong performance in the team’s third preseason game against the Miami Dolphins on Saturday. Not just that, but he needed to outperform Allen, who outdueled Hooker the week before.
That simply didn’t happen in Detroit’s 24-17 loss to Miami. Allen started and outshone Hooker, completing 14 of 17 passes for 124 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. He led a two-minute scoring drive right before the end of the first half, moving the Lions 83 yards in 1:20 and finding Isaac TeSlaa for an 18-yard touchdown to give the Lions a 14-7 halftime lead.
Conversely, Hooker came in and struggled to start the second half, taking two quick sacks, and couldn’t get anything going in the passing game for most of the half. He did get the Lions moving on the game’s final drive, but a swing pass to a tight end was intercepted by a leaping linebacker. He finished six of 13 for 51 yards passing with an interception.
With the emergency QB rule, teams do not have to carry three QBs on their active roster, and that’s why Detroit kept only two QBs last year when it announced its 53-man roster after the conclusion of the preseason.
There’s still one preseason game left, but through three preseason games, it’s clearly Jared Goff and Allen as the top quarterbacks, and that means Hooker appears destined for the practice squad or perhaps out of town altogether.
