The Hendon Hooker era is offcially over in Detroit, 3 options the Lions can replace him with, including a rookie with connections to the team
Three QBs who have a shot to grow with the Lions
Welp, it’s never the thing you want to see happen with the Detroit Lions and a recent third-round pick, but the writing has been on the wall with this one for a long time. The Lions are releasing Hendon Hooker ahead of Tuesday’s final cutdown.
The Lions may look to bring him back on the practice squad, but the expectation is that it’s over. The Linos tried for three years with him, and he just couldn’t seem to get over some of the mental struggles that he had dealt with since day one. This year’s preseason was particularly bad for him, and he did not lead one touchdown drive all summer long and turned the ball over five times. He racked up just 187 total yards.
Now the question is what the Lions can do to replace him. We have three ideas right off the bat. Keep in mind, this is almost 100% for a spot on the practice squad and not on the 53-man roster.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson
This is a guy I was personally very high on coming out of UCLA. He struggled with both the Browns and the Eagles, but neither spot was really good for him, especially in Cleveland, where they eat quarterbacks’ souls every year. Detroit is an interesting idea for him because he has not just Dan Campbell and John Morton, but Mark Brunell, Marques Tuiasosopo, and Bruce Gradkowski to lean on. Plus, he’s still just 25 years old. He can be the guy they wanted Hooker to be still.
Kyle McCord
Same thing as Thompson-Robinson to a point, McCord was in a place that didn’t need him. The Eagles have Jalen Hurts and Tanner McKee. I don’t know why they drafted him this year. McCord is just 22 years old, and he was very accurate at Syracuse. The Lions would be a perfect spot for him to grow his game and he’d even get to do it with Jackson Meeks, who was one of his top receivers at Syracuse.
Kedon Slovis
Slovis is an intriguing option because the Lions just spent a good part of the week with him. He was the QB4 with the Texans. Another rookie who was in a place where he was never going to succeed. I’m curious if Brad Holmes walked away from Saturday’s game wondering i he fits with Detroit on the practice squad. It’s worth a look to see what you can get out of him.