The Detroit Lions drafted Hendon Hooker in the third round of April's draft from a position of patience, and to some degree strength. Coming off a torn ACL late last season at Tennessee, Hooker could be slowly developed as a rookie while Jared Goff capably held down the fort under center. Head coach Dan Campbell even called this a "redshirt year" for Hooker.
It seems likely Hooker will be on the Lions' active roster at some point this season. Of course that does not mean he will play at all this year, just that he'll be a step closer to the possibility if circumstances offer it.
Goff is having an excellent season so far, that's not breaking news. A contract extension for him is a prominent conversation, since it's unlikely he'd go into 2024 (the final year of his current contract) without a deal if the Lions want to keep him long-term. And it sure seems like they do.
Detroit Lions trade rumors: Is trading Hendon Hooker a possibility?
In a trade deadline piece this past week for The Athletic (subscription required), former NFL general manager Randy Mueller suggested Goff's "outstanding" season could lead to the Lions considering trading Hooker if they got a viable offer.
Mueller likes Hooker so much he said he'd offer a second-round pick if he were still a general manager.
"Last year during my draft prep I saw a QB who, after a full evaluation, I felt was a possible NFL starter,” Mueller wrote. “Hendon Hooker from the University of Tennessee showed me arm talent, good athletic ability, an ability to process and NFL accuracy. He threw with enough timing and anticipation that I ranked him in my top five QBs for the 2023 NFL Draft.”
"Jared Goff is having an outstanding year — so much so that they almost have to extend his contract at some point soon,” Mueller wrote. “To that end, if you’re a team that had similar thoughts as I did regarding Hooker and still have doubts about your QB of the future, why not make a call to Detroit?”
If the Lions extend Goff for three more years (through 2027), they will also postpone the timeline for a young quarterback to succeed him. Hooker is 25 years old (almost exactly a year younger than Lamar Jackson, for an example), so his window to be the "quarterback of the future" is already a little bit compressed.
The question is if the Lions would trade Hooker, as they move toward a longer commitment with Goff. But it couldn't hurt an opposing general manager who really liked Hooker during the pre-draft process to find out. Maybe with an eye toward the offseason, when he has been fully medically cleared and a contract extension with Goff would more likely be done.