Lions' Hendon Hooker 'a puppy,' already showing improvement in battle for backup QB job

Yahoo20-05-2025

No one wants to play four preseason games, but for Detroit Lions quarterbacks coach Mark Brunell, there's a silver lining to his team's extra exhibition affair.
'For the quarterback position, I mean, I love it,' Brunell said May 13. 'I love it that Hendon and Kyle will be getting more reps, more game time, and so it allows you to evaluate more. It allows those guys to have more opportunities to move the team.'
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The Lions signed veteran Kyle Allen to compete with Hendon Hooker for the backup quarterback job behind Jared Goff in training camp, and with Goff expected to have a workload 'probably very similar to what' he has had in previous years, Brunell said, that will leave the bulk of the preseason game reps to Allen and Hooker.
Detroit Lions quarterback Hendon Hooker (2) looks to pass against Pittsburgh Steelers during the first half of a preseason game at Ford Field in Detroit on Saturday, August 24, 2024.
Goff has not taken a snap in a preseason game since 2022, with the Lions preferring he get his reps in joint workouts and practices. Lions coach Dan Campbell said he hopes to have two sets of joint practices again this summer.
The Lions open the preseason July 31 against the Los Angeles Chargers in the Hall of Fame game. They play a road game Aug. 8 against the Atlanta Falcons, then host the Miami Dolphins and Houston Texans to close the preseason.
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Hooker, a third-round pick in 2023 who missed his first training camp with the Lions while recovering from a college knee injury, saw his first NFL action last season when he completed 6 of 9 passes for 62 yards in three games.
After using Hooker as Goff's backup most of the year, the Lions signed Teddy Bridgewater late in the season as veteran quarterback insurance and made him their No. 2 quarterback in the playoffs. The team added Allen as competition this offseason.
'He's a puppy and he's still young,' Brunell said of Hooker, 27. 'And does he have a lot (to grow)? Yeah. Yeah, there's some things that we got to work on, but what other — that's the same case for every other young guy that's going into his third season. There's a lot of things to work on.'
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Allen, 29 and entering his eighth NFL season, has attempted just one pass the past two seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills but is 7-12 in his career as a starter.
'What we saw in Kyle was a quarterback, to your point, who has experience, he has played, he's been on multiple teams, different systems, very smart,' Brunell said. 'What I loved about the tape that we saw, he made good decisions with the ball. He managed very well. You could tell he was operating within whatever offense that he was in, and just has a good grasp on how to play at this level and has for a while.'
Brunell said how Allen and Hooker fare this summer will go a long way toward determining the backup.
He said he wants his No. 2 quarterback to be fundamentally sound and to be able to move the offense and make good decisions in games and practices. He has already seen Hooker improve in some of those areas.
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'He's throwing the ball better, his footwork is better, and he understands our concepts (better),' Brunell said. 'And so this has been really good for him. And as we go, the kid, because of his focus and his attitude and his work ethic, he's naturally just going to become a better quarterback. And when he gets out there in preseason, I imagine he's going to get a lot of reps. You'll see a better version of him than you did last year, and I'm excited about that. I'm really pleased with Hendon.'
Dave Birkett is the author of the book, "Detroit Lions: An Illustrated Timeline." Order your copy here. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lions QB Hendon Hooker 'a puppy,' looks improved in backup QB battle

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Lions Top 10 injury news of 2024 - Recap & Honorable mentions

USA Today

an hour ago

USA Today

Lions Top 10 injury news of 2024 - Recap & Honorable mentions

With so many key defensive injuries last season, some stories were going to miss the cut. Here, I present the "honorable" mentions. But first, the Top 10 recap.... No. 10: Alex Anzalone's forearm No. 9: Ifeatu Melifonwu's turbulent year No. 8: Christian Mahogany's delayed debut No. 7: James Houston's ill-fated comeback No. 6: David Montgomery's mysterious knee No. 5: Carlton Davis jaw fracture No. 4: The fortuitous offense No. 3: Alim McNeill's knee No. 2: Calamitous number of defensive injuries No. 1: Aidan Hutchinson HONORABLE MENTIONS Marcus Davenport elbow - September 22, 2024 Going into the season, there were hopes that Davenport would be able to solidify the EDGE position opposite Aidan Hutchinson. Those hopes were dashed in Week 3. Reports are that the injury was a triceps rupture. Davenport ended up having surgery and missed the rest of the year. As an unrestricted free agent, he re-signed with the Lions to a 1-year deal with $1.65 million guaranteed plus over $3 million in incentives. The low guarantee implies that NFL teams had concerns about his availability. So far this offseason, he seems to be doing well. He has been wearing an elbow wrap, but was a full participant in June OTA. Derrick Barnes MCL/PCL - September 22, 2024 Barnes was a versatile, starting LB for the Lions until his season ended in Week 3. Barnes had surgery for this injury and missed the rest of the year. During the offseason, the Lions signed him to a substantial 3-year deal worth up to $25.5 million with $16 million guaranteed. The contract suggests that the Lions are confident in his recovery. This offseason, Barnes still had significant right leg muscle atrophy and was a limited participant in OTA. However, he is expected to be ready for the season. Malcolm Rodriguez ACL - November 28, 2024 With Barnes and Alex Anzalone (forearm fracture) both out, Rodriguez was doing a good job stabilizing the LB position until his injury in Week 13. Rodriguez was the other ACL injury for the Lions last season along with Alim McNeill. With a typical recovery time of 10-11 months, an October return is anticipated. Recently, Dan Campbell stated that November was the probable return timeline. Thus, a return on November 2 after the bye seems like a logical target. Rodriguez is heading into the final year of his 4-year rookie contract, which gives him plenty of motivation to show proof of recovery. Friendly fire injuries With so many injuries, there were attempts to try to find a cause. In this earlier Lions Wire article, I complied a list of injuries caused by Lions colliding with each other. This list included Amik Robertson, Alex Anzalone twice, Aidan Hutchinson, Khalil Dorsey, Terrion Arnold, and Carlton Davis. The conclusion was that avoidable friendly fire was not a significant factor in the number of injuries sustained last season. Jake Bates - December 30, 2024 Let's not neglect the specialists. Here we see Bates and the 49ers turf working "something" out during the game. Was this pain? Or was this pleasure? Probably a bit of both. Uncharacteristically, Bates missed two extra points that day which raised some concern. Fortunately, he bounced back the next game with a perfect 5 for 5 day. While the mystery of Bates' dalliance with the turf may never be solved, at least there was a happy ending.

Former "Hog" impressed with Commanders, Jayden Daniels

Yahoo

2 hours ago

Yahoo

Former "Hog" impressed with Commanders, Jayden Daniels

Last season's divisional playoff game saw the Commanders go up to Detroit, win the turnover battle 5-0, and win the game 45-31, advancing to the NFC Championship game in Philadelphia. Rich Eisen welcomed former Super Bowl Champion guard Mark Schlereth (Redskins and Broncos) this week. They discussed the game between the Lions and the Commanders. Advertisement Regarding the Lions, Schlereth feels that though the Lions lost both offensive and defensive coordinators, Dan Campbell is very organized and will have that team ready. Schlereth believes the Lions "are still so talented" on offense, and on defense, they should be much healthier than they were last season. When Eisen mentioned the Commanders could take a step back, not making it to the NFC Championship game, Schlereth could not hold back his observations from working Commanders games in 2024. "Washington's interesting because I don't think anyone expected that level of success. I had them in Week 2, Giants at Washington. If we had truth serum for Dan Quinn, he would admit, he didn't think they would go that far, not at that moment." "I will say this, the young quarterback (Jayden Daniels), you watched him week in and week out, just address the mistakes and not repeat the mistakes." "Look, how many was it nine one-score games they won? All the fourth-down conversions they had. You would think at some point you are going to have to regress a little bit in your fourth-down conversion opportunities." "In the one-score games, they might lose a couple of those. So, you would have to think they would come back a little bit, but that's a good team." "I am a big Dan Quinn fan. I love the attitude and the attention to detail. You walk out on that practice field on Friday and they are dialed in as a staff and players." "They've got a really great culture and chemistry on that football team." This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Former Washington player previews 2025 Commanders

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