The time has come to put rookie quarterback Hendon Hooker on the 53-man roster, or lose him for the rest of the season. On Tuesday afternoon, Hooker was indeed taken off the NFI list and put on the active roster. In the corresponding move, kicker Riley Patterson has been waived.
Hooker is still not going to play this season, unless Jared Goff and Teddy Bridgewater both go down with major injuries. He will continue to be inactive on game days, barring something unforeseen. But the Lions coaches can continue to work with him in practice for the rest of the season, as they have been the last three weeks. Then come training camp next summer, he'll be ready to go.
The Lions' move to bring Michael Badgley up from the practice squad for last week's game against the Denver Broncos was a bad sign for Patterson, who had missed an extra point in two of the previous three games. Now, the kicker change will officially extend at least one more game, if not for the rest of the season. There's a chance Patterson will be added back to the practice squad if he clears waivers.
Detroit Lions have plenty more roster moves coming
With the Lions set to open the 21-day practice windows for defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson and fullback Jason Cabinda this week, they'll need two more spots on the active roster sometime soon. And two more soon after that if edge rusher James Houston and defensive tackle Alim McNeill are deemed ready to come off IR.
Badgley and veteran edge rusher Bruce Irvin are on the practice squad, with two more standard elevations each before they'd have to be signed to the active roster if the Lions want to keep playing them.
Letting Patterson go to make room for Hooker on the 53-man roster this week was pretty easy, in light of the kicker switch to Badgley last week. The upcoming moves to clear roster spots for any or all of the aforementioned other players won't all be that cut-and-dry.