There was a bit of shocking news over the weekend when New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr announced that he will retire from the NFL. That made things pretty interesting for the Saints' quarterback situation.
The Saints did draft Tyler Shough in the 2025 NFL Draft, and he could be their starter this season, but the backups are pretty questionable. Both Jake Haener and Spencer Rattler struggled during their times as starters.
In our opinion, one good option for the Saints would be to make a move with the Lions for Hendon Hooker. The Lions have put out plenty of signals that they feel things might not work out with Hendon Hooker and they could view Kyle Allen as a good placeholder while they wait to find their next guy.
The Saints once had a ton of interest in Hooker. They met with him and talked with him "extensively" leading up to the 2023 NFL Draft. When the draft rolled around, it was expected that New Orlenas would take Hooker on day two, but then the Lions swooped in took him two picks ahead of the Saints pick.
Shough should be in the driver seat for a starting role, but the Saints could look at Hooker as someone who can come in have a shot to compete for a starting role too. This might actually be Hookers best shot to be a starter in the NFL too.
If this were to happen, what could the Lions realistically get for Hooker? Here's the proposal:
Lions get: 2026 sixth-round pick
Saints get: Hendon Hooker
I know there will be a lot of Lions fans who feel like that is not nearly enough, but at the end of the day, the Lions are trading away a soon-to-be 28-year-old quarterback who only has one season under his belt, and that season didn't go so well.
We'll see what happens during the draft, but don't be surprised if Saints GM Mickey Loomis called Brad Holmes to chat about Hooker.
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