He won’t be doing so this year, but will Hendon Hooker push Jared Goff to be the Detroit Lions starting quarterback in 2024?
When the Detroit Lions took Hendon Hooker in the third round of the draft, it was with an obvious eye beyond 2023. The rookie signal caller is working his way back from a torn ACL suffered last season at Tennessee, and head coach Dan Campbell recently confirmed the plan for Hooker during an appearance on former NFL defensive lineman Chris Long’s podcast.
"This really is just a redshirt year for him,” Campbell said. “He’s got to get this leg right first; then he’ll learn under Jared (Goff) and let’s see what happens, you know? If he can eventually become your two (backup), or maybe down the road later on it’s more than that. But it’s going to be a long time.”"
One knock on Hooker is his age. It’s entirely possible, even very likely, he won’t take a meaningful NFL snap until his second season, when he’ll be 26 years old. For a comparison, Lamar Jackson turned 26 in January.
Next season will also be the last year’s of Jared Goff’s contract, barring an extension in the meantime. What the Lions do with Goff’s contract over the next year or so will have roots in what they see from Hooker–even if it’s entirely in mental reps and the way he carries himself as a rookie.
Will Hendon Hooker push Jared Goff for the starting job in 2024?
Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com recently took to projecting the 2023 starting lineups for each NFC North team. He’s optimistic on the Lions, and he had a punch line regarding the quarterback situation that’s worth a mention.
"The Lions needed to upgrade their backup quarterback situation and did so with third-round pick Hendon Hooker. Give Hooker a year before he’s challenging Jared Goff for playing time."
With a rookie season to learn an NFL offense while he gets his knee healthy, Hooker would ideally be ready to play in 2024. A clear opportunity to compete with Goff for the starting job is a different question, and very dependent on how Goff plays this coming season.
Assuming he’s healthy and able to run the Lions’ offense, Hooker should be in line for a chance to challenge Goff for the starting job in 2024. The only thing that should change that is Goff having a repeat of last season, which is patently unlikely.