Yardbarker
x
Dan Campbell plainly confirms what's going to happen with Hendon Hooker
Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

For a while, the Detroit Lions avoided creating any negative sentiment about Hendon Hooker. Head coach Dan Campbell said bringing back Teddy Bridgewater late last season was not a sign they didn't trust the young quarterback, even though it clearly was.

Slowly but surely, the facade has faded. Hooker was obviously going to have to compete with Kyle Allen to be Jared Goff's backup, and general manager Brad Holmes made that clear. Hooker was not able to carry solid work in camp into preseason action this year, which led to Allen having the No. 2 spot on the depth chart locked up after the second-to-last preseason game.

Just this past week, Campbell made it pretty clear Hooker was not going to make the 53-man roster when he was asked about keeping three quarterbacks.

"If you do that (keep three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster), you lose depth with the D-line, or O-line, or a receiver, or a defensive back, or a linebacker. You get the point", Campbell said. "So, how important is that relative to the other positions? And what’s hard is, look, you can call it what you want. When you have a year like we did last year, you get affected a little bit by it, it has an effect on the way you think and depth, depth, depth. We gotta make sure that we have the depth."

Hooker had another rough outing against the Houston Texans in the preseason finale, going 6-for-11 for 70 yards with interception, two sacks taken and a 36.2 passer rating. It's worth noting his first throw, a 30-yard deep ball to Ronnie Bell, was wiped out by a penalty. And he did have a nice 25-yard run as the highlight of his day on a play that counted.

After the game, according to Kory Woods of MLive, Hooker said he felt he'd "made a strong stance" to make the Lions' roster during training camp, etc. He might be the only one who thinks so, but he wasn't going to say otherwise.

Dan Campbell foreshadows Hendon Hooker's future

After the game against the Texans, in light of his earlier comments, Campbell was asked about the pros and cons of keeping Hooker as the third quarterback.

"Look, it’s always going to be how much development do you believe there is. Because look, we are talking about Hooker right now. How much development do you believe there still is? Sometimes does the player need a change of scenery? What about our own depth in other areas? I mentioned this the other day, relative to that – all right, maybe there is room to grow. Is that worth it for the depth we need at O-Line, D-Line, receiver, DB? And so those are all things you have to weigh. Look, I wish Hooker, and I know he does – would’ve had a better outing, but you have to take it with a grain of salt. It’s not like he was playing with our first O-Line out there, or first team skill position – all of that. So you take that all into account as well. I thought he was prepared. I thought he was ready – looked pretty calm, just circumstances didn’t work out today, that’s all."

READ MORE: Lions preseason proves Brad Holmes found a hidden gem in Nate Lynn

Never one to hide how he feels, Campbell saying something about how Hooker may need a change of scenery means something.

Campbell practically admitted the Lions' coaching staff has failed Hooker, and he needs new voices. Sometimes that happens, and it's no one's fault.

As Campbell tried to soften his sentiment, the excuse Hooker was not working with first-string players only goes so far. Allen worked with very few starters all preseason, and after the Hall of Fame Game he played well.

Hooker was an older prospect, he was working his way back from a torn ACL and he played in a limited offense at Tennessee. So using a top-70 overall pick on him was questionable right off the bat, and things have gone about as well as any skeptic in late-April of 2023 would've predicted.

Campbell all but declared it with his "change of scenery" thought. Hooker is coming to the end of his time on the Lions' roster.

More Lions news and analysis


This article first appeared on Side Lion Report and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads:

Customize Your Newsletter

Yardbarker +

Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!