For all intents and purposes, if it wasn't already, the Detroit Lions' backup quarterback battle is over now. In the second preseason game against the Miami Dolphins, Kyle Allen went 14-for-17 for 124 yards with two touchdowns and a 136.3 passer rating, while Hendon Hooker again struggled (6-for-13 for 61 yards with an interception).
After the game, head coach Dan Campbell basically declared Allen will be Jared Goff's backup when asked if Allen is the leader in the competition.
"Yeah, I mean, he’s playing better, he’s playing better", Campbell said. "So I would say that right now, if you’re saying – if you had to go in with the (no.) two right now, ‘Who would you trust more?’ Yeah, I would trust Kyle more because he’s proven more after these two games. But I’m still – we’re still going to coach (Hendon) Hooker up. We’re still going to see what’s there and see if we can get him better. I mean, we still got a little bit here.”
Before that, when asked more generally about the competition between Allen and Hooker, Campbell signaled Hooker has not nccessarily been given up on.
"Yeah, well, we just continue to work with Hooker", Campbell said. "I think right now, we’ll talk about it tomorrow but I’d like to get him some more reps next week. I’m talking about Hooker."
After making a concerted effort to avoid saying so, Campbell finally said, essentially, Hooker would not be trusted to step in if something happened to Goff. It's been no secret, highlighted by bringing Teddy Bridgewater back late last season. But it's nice to hear the typically direct and candid Campbell acknowledge the basis reality that Hooker has not developed like the team hoped.
The question now becomes what the Lions do with Hooker. It makes no sense to keep him on the 53-man roster as the No. 3 quarterback, and if they wanted to keep him on the practice squad it's a coin flip chance he clears waivers. His trade value was crushed by the way they handled the end of last season, and any idea his trade value can be revived is all but gone.
Lions beat writer has Hendon Hooker theory that feels plausible
In reaction to Allen seizing the backup quarterback job in the second preseason game, John Maakaron of Lions on SI brushed off the idea of keeping Hooker as the third quarterback on the 53-man roster.
Noting what Campbell said about wanting to continue to work with and develop Hooker, Maakaron took that to mean something else.
"No...that's not, that was code, and I cracked the code", Maakaron said. "The Detroit Lions are shopping Hendon Hooker."
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The pertinent question then becomes, what could the Lions even get for Hooker in a trade? Maakaron offered a path to bolstering the return.
"They're gonna try to put as much positive film out there, so they can get a fifth (round-pick) for him....So to get Hendon Hooker a lot more reps, you've got a chance to get a couple reports and a couple 'hey, nice practice(s), a little bit of buzz."
"You gotta hope that Hendon Hooker plays the whole game against the Texans", Maakaron continued, "and does something."
After acknowledging how the idea of the Lions keeping Hooker might then easily surface if he plays well in the final preseason game, Maakaron reinforced his punchline.
"It is my opinion they're shopping Hendon Hooker."
There are obvious challenges to trading Hooker and the return will not be great if they could move him, which Maakaron also noted.
With nothing to be accomplished by playing Allen in the final preseason game, the coming week is an easy opportunity to showcase Hooker and try to unearth a trade market. And as Maakaron said, "you just need one" team to believe there might be something there.