The Detroit Lions wrapped up their preseason schedule with a 26-7 loss to the Houston Texans on Saturday afternoon but now the real work of training camp begins. The Lions must cut their 90-man roster down to 53 players by Tuesday afternoon and build a team that is capable of contending for a Super Bowl.
With so many standouts during camp, it will be a tough decision for Brad Holmes, Dan Campbell and the rest of the Lions’ staff to finalize their roster. But there’s one player that will definitely be turning in his playbook ahead of cutdown day.
Hendon Hooker May Have Thrown His Last Pass for the Lions
Saturday was the most recent performance in a string of tough ones for quarterback Hendon Hooker. The 27-year-old was competing with Kyle Allen for the backup quarterback job in Detroit but Kyle Allen overcame a pair of turnovers in the Hall of Fame Game and seems to have cemented his spot by completing all five of his passes for 66 yards and a touchdown.
With Campbell singing Allen’s praises coming into the game, Hooker was playing for a job against the Texans. While he got a bulk of the playing time, he couldn’t put together a strong effort, going 6-for-11 for 70 yards and an interception.
Hooker’s game against the Texans brings his total preseason line to completing 22-for-40 passes for 187 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions. While he entered camp looking for a spot behind Jared Goff, he now has to wonder if he has a spot at all. The Lions could keep three quarterbacks going into the season but Campbell suggested that could hurt depth somewhere else when talking to reporters after Saturday’s game.
“What D-Line or O-line? Or receiver, or defense back, or linebacker or – you get the point,” Campbell said via Colton Pouncy of The Athletic. “So how important is that relative to the other positions?”
Campbell also admitted that the way last year ended, where a 15-2 season went down the drain with 16 players on injured reserve, could also play a factor in the decision.
“What’s hard is…when you have a year like we did last year, you get affected a little bit by it,” Campbell said. “It has an effect on the way you think. Depth, depth, depth. We’ve got to make sure that we have the depth.”
Campbell’s comments suggest the Lions will look to carry as much depth as possible and that may not be a good thing for Hooker. While keeping three quarterbacks is common among most teams, the third quarterback rarely sees the field during the season and is usually stashed on the practice squad after the NFL allowed teams to carry a maximum of six veteran players in 2022.
Admitting failure on a former third-round pick probably isn’t something the Lions want to do. But with Super Bowl aspirations, cutting or trading Hooker may be the best direction ahead of Tuesday’s deadline.