Some Lions fans want it to be Hendon Hooker time in Detroit
Former Tennessee Vols quarterback Hendon Hooker, a third round pick by the Detroit Lions in the 2023 NFL Draft, just recently returned to practice after completing his rehab on the ACL he tore at the end of the 2022 season. And some Lions fans are already calling for the former Vol to take over for […]
Former Tennessee Vols quarterback Hendon Hooker, a third round pick by the Detroit Lions in the 2023 NFL Draft, just recently returned to practice after completing his rehab on the ACL he tore at the end of the 2022 season.
And some Lions fans are already calling for the former Vol to take over for quarterback Jared Goff.
The calls for Hooker come after Goff had his worst game of the season in a 28-13 loss to the Chicago Bears.
Goff wasn't helped by his wide receivers (the usually reliable Amon-Ra St. Brown had several tough drops), but it was still a poor performance from Detroit's starting quarterback.
But the while the Lions need to eventually see what they have in Hooker (who was a first round talent, but fell in the draft due to his torn ACL), it's hard to make a strong argument for benching Goff at this point in the season. For starters, his two worst games this season have come against the Bears (and one of those was a win for the Lions). Sometimes a bad game against a divisional opponent is simply due to familiarity between the two franchises. The Bears just seem to know how to effectively defend Goff.
Secondly, I don't see how any NFL team would consider benching their starting quarterback when the team has a two game divisional lead (as the Lions do over the Minnesota Vikings). Hooker will eventually get a chance to show what he can do, but in the middle of a playoff race probably isn't the time for a rookie quarterback to make his debut.
It's nice to see that Detroit fans are excited about Hooker's potential, but they're probably going to have to wait until 2024 at the earliest to see him take the field for the Lions (though Goff is under contract through the end of next season).
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