Brodric Martin

5:37pm: The 2023 third round did not go well for the Lions. After playing in just five games from 2023-24, Brodric Martin will be waived, per AtoZSports.com’s Mike Payton. Martin and Hooker each have two years left on their rookie deals.

Chosen 96th overall in 2023, Martin played in three rookie-year games and two 2024 contests. He did not see any playoff action. The Lions did use one of their IR activations on Martin, despite an injury-battered season making those rather valuable, but the team has not gotten much from the pick. Martin could be retained on a practice squad deal if he clears waivers.

3:02pm: Technically given three offseasons to take flight, the Lions’ Hendon Hooker is experiment is over. Detroit is waiving the former third-round pick, NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo reports.

Rehabbing a major injury during his first year in Detroit, Hooker has not progressed to the point the Lions have felt comfortable with him as Jared Goff‘s top backup. Discussing the young QB over the weekend, Dan Campbell signaled a separation was likely.

Campbell said a change of scenery would probably benefit the Tennessee alum at this point, and that will happen. Hooker does not appear a candidate for Detroit’s practice squad. Two years remain on his third-round contract. Hooker, 27, is due just more than $1MM in 2025 base salary. That figure is nonguaranteed, but the former Heisman candidate’s shaky Detroit stint may not make it a lock he is claimed. The Lions would eat less than $600K in dead money if Hooker goes unclaimed. The team will know by 11am CT Wednesday if the QB is claimed.

The Lions will give their backup job to Kyle Allen, who signed a one-year, $1.27MM deal this offseason. Although Allen spent last year as the Steelers’ third-stringer, he outplayed Hooker in the preseason after the latter committed five turnovers during Detroit’s exhibition slate. After the Lions reunited with Teddy Bridgewater to close last season, Allen’s arrival brought another challenge for Hooker.

The Bridgewater move came after Hooker did serve as the Lions’ top backup for most of last season. Hooker played in three games, completing 6 of 9 passes for 62 yards. That represents his only NFL game action, as the former Virginia Tech recruit spent most of his rookie year on the Lions’ reserve/NFI list due to the ACL tear sustained in November 2022. Hooker was mentioned as a candidate to be drafted earlier than he was (No. 68), but he has thus far proven skeptics — due partially to a Tennessee offense that brought questions about the formerly productive passer’s transition to the pros — right to this point.

Detroit does not have a third QB on its roster, making it logical the team will pursue one for its practice squad as the emergency option. The Lions carried Goff, Bridgewater and Hooker to close last season. Allen, 29, is now on team No. 6. He has worked as a backup or third-stringer — and fill-in starter, occasionally — in Carolina, Washington, Houston, Buffalo and Pittsburgh.

Allen’s most notable NFL work came in 2019, when he quarterbacked a mediocre Panthers team — Christian McCaffrey‘s historic 1,000-1,000 season notwithstanding — to a 5-7 record in his starts replacing an injured Cam Newton. Allen made two more starts with a bad 2022 Texans squad but has attempted one regular-season pass since 2023. Goff’s durability continues to benefit the Lions, but they will likely replace Hooker soon.