Lions head coach Dan Campbell recently suggested quarterback Hendon Hooker could potentially use a change of scenery.
Now, Detroit is giving Hooker a chance to find a new team.
According to multiple reports, the Lions are waiving Hooker as part of their cuts to reduce their roster to 53 players.
Hooker, 27, was a third-round pick in 2023 after a pair of successful seasons as Tennessee’s quarterback. While he was coming off an ACL tear suffered late in the 2022 season, Hooker was thought of as a potential successor to Jared Goff when Detroit picked him up.
But Hooker has not made enough progress to be the team’s backup quarterback, let alone be considered as a potential future QB1. Hooker lost the backup quarterback competition to Kyle Allen this summer. Though Campbell noted Hooker has been working hard, he also made it clear that it wasn’t working out between the team and player.
“How much development do you believe there is?” Campbell said over the weekend. “We’re talking about Hooker right now, how much development do you believe there still is? Sometimes, does the player need a change of scenery?”
Hooker appeared in three games for Detroit last season in mop-up duty, completing 6-of-9 passes for 62 yards.
There may be any number of teams that could take a chance on Hooker via the waiver wire. Or there’s a chance that Detroit doesn’t officially waive Hooker until Tuesday, which could give a team an opportunity to trade for him on the off chance a team is very interested in the quarterback.
