At the start of training camp, Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell professed it'd be a legit competition for the No. 2 quarterback spot between Nate Sudfeld and Hendon Hooker. Making Hooker is fine and expected, but he finally made serious progress in the second preseason game to practically seal the gig.
His ups and downs continued in the preseason finale, but Hooker's edge over Sudfeld is rooted in potential. Sudfeld, even if there isn't yet full trust in Hooker, is replaceable in every way besides having experience in the Lions' offense.
Before the preseason finale, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler confirmed the sentiment Campbell has not been hiding. Sudfeld had the edge to be the Lions' QB2, and the fact he sat against the Steelers further confirmed that for a lot of people.
Campbell has hinted at keeping three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster. The NFLPA vetoing an emergency quarterback rule that would have allowed the elevation of a third quarterback from the practice squad on game days makes that a practical certainty, if there's not full faith that Hooker could step in and play.
Dan Campbell turns down opportunity to declare Nate Sudfeld is the No. 2 QB
During his press conference Monday, Campbell was asked by John Maakaron of SI.com if Sudfeld was still ahead of Hooker on the depth chart.
"It's hard to answer that because there again, they both bring something different, you know, and you could easily say one of them gets you out of the game and another one is the one starts for you if something happened the next week and you know, so I mean, you're going to use all those guys, I guess is the best way to say it."
'"They've all shown something a little bit different. I mean, let's start with Hooker. You want to know, plain and simple, it's hard for me to just jump right in and say, 'Man, he's, you feel great at number two.' I think of him as, is he growing?That's where my mind goes first. Is he growing? Is he developing? Yes he is. He got better, all right, because he got reps. That's good."
"Nate, for the most part, has done what we've asked him to do," Campbell added. "There's a couple of decisions here and there, but we know what he is. He's been around the system now going on three years."
Once again, after previously saying he has "played more" and "seen it more", Campbell overestimated Sudfeld's actual resume. He was signed late in the 2022 preseason, after being released by the 49ers and after Tim Boyle and David Blough were cleaned off the Lions' quarterback depth chart. So that's two years, but going into a third season to be fair.
But Campbell is absolutely right about one thing-they know what Sudfeld is. Which is to say, they should know he's a highly replaceable backup option.
Knowledge of the system was not a factor when Boyle and Blough were swept out right around roster cuts and replaced by Sudfeld two years ago. So why does it matter now? Probably because Sudfeld having been "around the system" as much as he has is a crutch way to prop him up. And there's nothing else to go on, if you want to prop him up.
Yet, when asked directly if Sudfeld was ahead of Hooker on the depth chart as roster cuts loom, Campbell turned down the chance to make that declaration. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. The door then seems open to Hooker being the No. 2 quarterback, or maybe there's a move being considered to replace Sudfeld?