It was inevitable, and it's now official. With the Detroit Lions agreeing to terms with Jared Goff on a four-year contract extension, any chance Hendon Hooker has to be an NFL starting quarterback will come elsewhere.
Hooker is an unknown quantity, having spent most of his rookie season last year working his way back from a torn ACL late in his final college season. He is in line to be Goff's primary backup this year, but as an older incoming prospect who's now 26 years old he will not play meaningful game snaps unless Goff is injured. By the time his rookie contract ends, with three years left on it right now, it's possible he will not have played a regular season snap at all upon turning 29 years old in January of 2027.
Having a capable backup quarterback is important, and for the Lions it's more important than it is for a lot of teams. If Goff goes down, their Super Bowl aspirations for this year would go down with him. But it's unknown if Hooker is a capable backup, even if his latent potential far exceeds Nate Sudfeld's.
The wisdom of drafting Hooker, with his older age and coming off a major injury in mind, can be questioned with the Lions never wavering from declaring Goff is their guy long-term. It's hard to see him demanding a trade in the way we think of players doing that, but Hooker is now a tradeable asset if nothing else.
Hooker won't be traded before training camp, most likely. Other teams have his college tape pre-injury as a reference point, and the preseason will be an opportunity to showcase himself for a potential trade if the Lions will entertain it. On that preseason premise, these five teams could have a trade for Hooker land on their radar.
5 teams who could trade for Hendon Hooker
5. New York Jets
The Jets drafted a theoretical successor to Aaron Rodgers this year in Jordan Travis, who may have been drafted earlier if not for an injury of his own in his final college season. They are automatically all-in for as long as Rodgers is their quarterback, but how long that will be is largely up to his whims and desires.
Multiple fliers on a potential quarterback of the future in this offseason wouldn't be an awful idea for the Jets, but big changes could also come next offseason if things go off the rails this season.
The Lions, if they are willing to trade Hooker, might try to do him a favor and not send him into a dysfunctional situation. The Jets personify dysfunction, either real or seemingly percolating close to the surface. But they could become interested in Hooker very quickly come the preseason, and make an offer the Lions can't refuse.