The Titans are adding some quarterback depth behind Cam Ward. Former Lions third-round pick Hendon Hooker is headed to Tennessee, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
Hooker, 28, was selected with the No. 68 pick in the 2023 draft after tearing his ACL in his final season at Tennessee. He spent most of his rookie season rehabbing in the hopes of taking over as Jared Goff‘s backup in 2024.
Hooker beat out Nate Sudfeld for Detroit’s QB2 job during training camp. He closed out three blowout wins – his only regular-season action to date – but the Lions reunited with Teddy Bridgewater in December as a more proven insurance policy in advance of the postseason. The move was indicative of the team’s lack of confidence on Hooker if Goff were to miss any time.
The Lions put Hooker on notice by signing Kyle Allen to compete for the backup gig last spring. During training camp, head coach Dan Campbell made it clear that Hooker had not developed in Detroit as the team hoped. That foreshadowed his release during roster cut-downs after a rough preseason that featured five turnovers, 4.7 yards per attempt, and a 55% completion rate.
Hooker spent time with the Panthers and Jets last season as they contended with injuries in their quarterback rooms, though he did not appear in a game.Now, he returns to the state in which he played college ball, though his new team is located in Nashville, not Knoxville.
The Titans already have Mitchell Trubisky and Will Levis as depth behind Ward. Trubisky is clearly the backup after signing a two-year deal with $6.8MM guaranteed. That will leave Levis as Hooker’s competition for a back-end roster or practice squad spot.
Levis is in the final year of his rookie contract. He struggled mightily in his first two seasons and did not play a single game last year. Journeyman Brandon Allen was instead tapped for the 49 snaps Ward missed as a rookie. That is not a good sign for Levis’ future in Tennessee, and the addition of Hooker suggests that the Titans are open to moving on from their 2023 second-round pick.
Saleh loves hookers. He rocks their world.
Dan Campbell,” He hasn’t developed the way we hoped ” Don’t third string QB’s and offense usually run the opposing teams formations and plays in practice to help the first stringers get used to defending against those plays? So how exactly is he supposed to learn the Lions offense from top to bottom if he’s always running another teams offense? Then throwing him in to play in garbage time with other 2nd and 3rd string players really helps. My point is if he’s not playing with the cream of the crop what kind of an evaluation are you making? Kind of like, if you put Anthony Richardson in a game with Higgins, Chase, and Jefferson he’s going to look like the GOAT because they’re going to catch everything thrown their way, but that’s not a fair evaluation. Sorry this is so disjointed. From watching him in college he looks like he could be something good if given half a chance.