Lions rookie quarterback Hendon Hooker to start season on NFI list

The Detroit Lions are clearly taking it slow with Hendon Hooker, with head coach Dan Campbell calling this a "redshirt year" for the rookie signal caller as he recovers from a torn ACL and learns an NFL offense. By all accounts he has been making good progress in his recovery, but there's no need to rush anything.

Hooker went on the non-football injury list (because his injury happened in college, it's a "non-football injury" in NFL terms) at the start of training camp, with the surefire likelihood he'd remain there into the regular season. On Monday morning Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported the looming move, as the Lions get their roster down to 53 players before Tuesday afternoon.

Once the Lions make Hooker's placement on the NFI list official, he will miss at least the first four weeks of the season. It'll likely be more than that for him, but four is the minimum.

Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press noted the option the team would have to keep Hooker on the NFI list all season. That would then toll his contract, and give themselves an extra year of contract control with him (sounds like when manipulating service time in baseball was a thing). But they won't do so, with intent to activate him when he will presumably be healthy enough at some point this season. Hooker being older than a typical rookie (25) adds a layer to the idea a manipulated extra year of contract contol doesn't make sense, if it wasn't a bad faith move off the top too.

Hooker remains patently unlikely to play this season, and keeping him on the NFI list into the season has been expected all along. But he is in line to be on the 53-man roster for some weeks before his rookie season is over, and maybe he'll be active/in uniform for some games too.