The Detroit Lions took Hendon Hooker in the third round of April's draft knowing he would be unlikely to be ready to play as a rookie after suffering a torn ACL last November. General manager Brad Holmes conveyed that expectation, while noting a rookie quarterback's learning curve, and head coach Dan Campbell declared this to be a "redshirt" year for Hooker.
But with Jared Goff in place as the starter for at least one more year, the Lions are an ideal situation for Hooker to learn and get back to full health. There would never be any bad news conveyed up to this point, but Hooker did start throwing last month as a next step in his recovery process.
Hooker was back in Tennessee for an event last weekend. Via Cora Hall of the Knoxville News Sentinel, he said he's "progressing very well" in his rehab.
"I'm really just taking it day-by-day and continuing to build my body back up to where I want it to be and even better," Hooker said Saturday."
Hendon Hooker is set to trust the all-around process of his rookie season
Hooker went to talk to Hall about the Lions' coaching staff.
"I love the Detroit staff," Hooker said. "They're very supportive. Always teaching and hungry to get better. There's a competitive aspect from every coach that we have. It's always a competition on the field. Offense, defense it's always going to be some chatter going back and forth, and I love that. I want be a part of something that's going to continue to progress to get better, and that's what we're trying to do. We're trying to win ballgames.""
Hooker is a strong candidate to start training camp on the non-football injury list, as Jameson Williams did a year ago since his injury happened as a college player. Going on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list is also the most likely scenario to start the season, since he's unlikely to play all season anyway.
If he doesn't get any on-field work during camp, Hooker will still get valuable mental reps like he did during OTAs. That development is just as important as his injury rehab, as the Lions take it slow with him and possibly cultivate their successor for Goff.