WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Hendon Hooker is entering a pivotal offseason for the Detroit Lions.
The former third-round pick missed most of his rookie season while recovering from an ACL injury suffered in college. Then, Hooker served as the primary backup quarterback in Year 2 before getting bumped down the depth chart for Teddy Bridgewater, who was fresh off a retired stint to coach high school football in his native Miami.
Now, the Lions have added veteran backup quarterback Kyle Allen to the mix, and if Hooker wants his job back, he will have to win it back.
Brad Holmes said the decision to bring Bridgewater back for the playoffs was based on Hooker not being ready for those moments. The Lions general manager remains excited about Hooker’s ceiling, but he knows the clock is ticking and progress must be made.
“I mean, look, it’s just competition. That’s all it is,” Holmes said at NFL owners meetings. “I mean, look, we like Hendon, excited about him. I’ve always said about Hendon, you know, kind of a lot of steps on his journey coming out of high school and, you know, at Virginia Tech or Tennessee, like, it wasn’t immediately he was the guy.
“So, you know, he had the injury that first year, then last year, that was the first year that he was able to do a full year of training camp and during the season. And then we brought Teddy Bridgewater in just because we were gearing up for the playoffs.”
Holmes said nobody in Detroit is handed a job based on optimism or draft position, and that remains true at backup quarterback. The 27-year-old appeared in three games, completing six of nine passes for 62 yards during a trio of blowout wins.
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Jared Goff is entrenched as the franchise quarterback. Jake Fromm was signed to a reserve/futures deal after spending the year on the practice squad. And Allen brings experience to the position, with 31 appearances and 19 starts across seven years in the league.
Allen last started back in 2022, when he held that position for two games with the Houston Texans. His most extensive action came in 2019 when he started 12 games for the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers went 5-7 in those games, with Allen throwing 17 touchdowns to 16 interceptions with a 62% completion rate.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell told reporters he believes competition is the best way to help players reach their full potential. Either Hooker elevates and wins the job with an impressive offseason and training camp, or Allen takes it and brings experience behind Goff.
“I would say that Hooker, no different than Allen, (is) competing,” Campbell said. “The best way to help guys really reach their full potential is competition. You can say things. You can try to -- the best you can -- prop them up.
“But at some point, man, you just gotta go compete, and it’s him or you. I anticipate Hooker is gonna compete. That’s what he does, and I would see him taking another step up.”