NFL teams have wrapped up their organized team activities (OTAs) and minicamp last week. They are currently on their summer break until they reconvene in July for training camp. After that, it's a marathon. Training camps will provide the last opportunity for teams to evaluate their roster and make changes before the season.
For one former Detroit Lions quarterback, however, there is very little he can do to turn things around.
Hendon Hooker, who signed with the Tennessee Titans in the offseason, may have already worn out his welcome on his new team.
Hendon Hooker has yet to turn things around after leaving Detroit
The 28-year-old signal-caller was already facing an uphill battle when he signed with the Titans. He arrived in a quarterback room that had Cam Ward, Will Levis, and Mitchell Trubisky. He was clearly QB4 among a group that includes the first-overall pick, the team's starter before the No. 1 pick, and one of the most competent and experienced backup QBs in the league.
For Hooker to climb up the depth chart, he was going to have to impress during OTAs and minicamp. Unsurprisingly for anyone who followed his Lions career, Hooker wasn't able to do that. He firmly remains the fourth-stringer and likely won't last much longer with the Titans.
The reporting out of Tennessee suggests that Trubisky has emerged as the favorite to be QB2. After Levis missed all of last season with a shoulder injury, a training camp competition was expected between the former second-round pick and Trubisky. Bryce Lazenby of the Tennessee Titans on SI said that Trubisky "showed why he's the QB2" during minicamp.
Lazenby noted that Hooker and Levis both got some extra run when Trubisky missed the first part of OTAs. He reportedly failed to impress in these reps. And when Trubisky returned for the second week of OTAs, Hooker saw "his opportunities decrease," per senior team writer Jim Wyatt. Levis, on the other hand, "continued to get team and 7-on-7 reps.
It looks like it will take a minor miracle for Hooker to avoid his fate after the training camp. Perhaps the Titans might want to keep him around on the practice squad. Considering that he spent last year on the Panthers and the Jets' practice squads, this wouldn't be unfamiliar territory for Hooker. Despite getting promoted to the active roster once in New York, Hooker didn't get any snaps last year.
That is unlikely to change next season. The former third-round pick remains a big miss for GM Brad Holmes and the front office. Hooker is unlikely to make the Lions regret letting him walk last offseason any time soon.
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