Hendon Hooker gets a chance to shine on Thursday night

When the Lions added quarterback Hendon Hooker with a third-round pick in the 2023 draft, eyebrows were raised.

At that point, the Lions hadn’t become THE LIONS. And Jared Goff hadn’t become Ja-red Goff! Ja-red Goff! Ja-red Goff!

Remember, the Lions received a first-round pick for taking on Goff’s contract. He had two guaranteed seasons — 2021 and 2022. After that, it was year to year. Could Hooker, many wondered, be the future?

Then came 2024, and Goff reached a new level of performance. Hooker has remained in the background. Questions about him became more pointed when the Lions brought back Teddy Bridgewater to serve as the primary backup for the 2024 playoffs — even after Bridgewater sat out the regular season to coach high-school football.

After the 2024 season, no one was linked to trying to trade for Hooker, either to secure his services as a backup or to have him compete to be a starter.

Through it all, Hooker has three regular-season appearances, with nine passes thrown. Tonight, he should throw more than that against the Chargers, as he gets a national platform during the first game of the preseason. (It’s unclear whether he or veteran Kyle Allen will get the start.)

Will he eventually play his way into a starting role? Will he be a perpetual understudy in pro football? While tonight won’t be dispositive, it will be a very relevant piece of the puzzle.

Click here to read article