For those who are willing to read tea leaves, Hendon Hooker's future with the Detroit Lions is in question. From talk of keeping three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster last summer, to him taking too long to beat out Nate Sudfeld for the No. 2 spot on the depth chart to reported interest in Daniel Jones during last season.
And let's not forget the late-season signing of Teddy Bridgewater off the street, and Bridgewater being Jared Goff's backup in the playoff loss to the Washington Commanders.
Then there's the brass tacks of Hooker's situation. He turned 27 in January (for a comparison, Lamar Jackson turned 28 in January). He's now halfway through his rookie contract, and Goff is under contract through 2028.
Hooker has been offered as a potential cut candidate for the Lions, but it's possible they can get something for him in a trade. If Ben Johnson had taken the head coaching job in a certain place, it was plausible he would have had interest in bringing Hooker with him.
Analyst says specific team should call the Lions about Hendon Hooker
On Friday's episode of "PFT Live" with Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, as the discussion about quarterback options for the Jets after parting with Aaron Rodgers moved beyond who they have under contract and Florio asked "what do you (the Jets) do?", NBC "Sunday Night Football' analyst Rodney Harrison did not hesitate to offer thoughts.
"I'm gonna tell ya exactly what I'm gonna do", Harrison said. "I'm gonna call Detroit, and say 'hey, I'm very interested in Hendon Hooker, your backup quarterback'. He's healthy, he was a Heisman guy, until he got hurt at the University of Tennessee. I think this young man, I got a chance to see him often, he's big, he's smart, he's an older guy, because he spent a lot of time in college...he's very mature. But I would trade for Hendon Hooker. Watch out for that name."
Harrison went on to note how Jets head coach Aaron Glenn got to go against Hooker in practice when he was the Lions' defensive coordinator. Harrison also lauded Hooker above the top quarterbacks in this year's draft class (Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward), calling the Lions' backup a "hidden gem."
Glenn hired two Lions offensive assistants to his coaching staff in New York, Tanner Engstrand (offensive coordinator) and Steve Heiden (offensive line coach). So the tie to Hooker is fairly deep on the Jets' staff, and they should be exploring all avenues to find a quarterback. Calling the Lions about Hooker is easy to see happening, and Harrison is obviously on-board with the idea.