The next couple of days could be nerve-racking for several members of the Detroit Lions. The Lions must cut their 90-man roster down to 53 players by Tuesday afternoon, and you couldn’t blame anyone for staring at their phone, wondering if someone was about to tell them to turn in their playbook.
While some hope that a call would be good news, others have a reason to be less optimistic. That includes quarterback Hendon Hooker, who wrapped up a disappointing preseason. The writing has been on the wall for Hooker in the hours after the preseason finale against the Houston Texans, but Lions head coach Dan Campbell delivered a blunt message that suggests his time in Detroit is coming to an end.
Dan Campbell Suggests Hendon Hooker Needs “Change of Scenery” After Lions Preseason
Speaking to reporters after Saturday’s loss to the Texans, Campbell suggested that Hooker needed “a change of scenery” after completing 6-of-11 passes for 70 yards and an interception. With Kyle Allen winning the backup job, Campbell was honest about Hooker’s performance and essentially guaranteed that a trade or release would be coming ahead of Tuesday’s deadline.
"Look, it’s always how much development do you believe there is, Campbell said via Jeff Risdon of Lions Wire. “Because look, we are talking about Hooker right now. How much development do you believe there still is? Sometimes does the player need a change of scenery? What about our depth in other areas? I mentioned this the other day, relative to that – all right, maybe there is room to grow. Is that worth it for the depth we need at O-Line, D-Line, receiver, [defensive back]? And so those are all things you have to weigh."Lions head coach Dan Campbell
If you read into Campbell’s comments, there’s a good chance Hooker is on another team after the deadline. A third-round pick by the Lions in the 2023 draft, Hooker spent his rookie season rehabbing a torn ACL suffered in his final year at Tennessee and last year as the backup to Jared Goff. But that didn’t go smoothly as Teddy Bridgewater was signed out of retirement late in the year and even took snaps in a playoff game over Hooker last January.
The preseason didn’t fare much better as Hooker completed 22-of-40 passes for 187 yards, no touchdowns, and three interceptions in four games. He also watched Allen overcome a pair of interceptions in the Hall of Fame Game to take over the backup job.
While the third-year signal caller may still have some development, he wasn’t a traditional rookie, entering the league at 25 years old. Now at age 27, Hooker’s learning curve may not be as valuable to the Lions as carrying extra depth to avoid the injury woes that derailed last season.