I genuinely believe that Detroit Lions General Manager Brad Holmes and Head Coach Dan Campbell still have confidence in Hendon Hooker. However, since the team signed Teddy Bridgewater and named him the backup quarterback for the Divisional Round matchup against the Washington Commanders, there has been speculation that Hooker might be traded before the 2025 season.
If the Lions do decide to trade Hooker, they may consider drafting a new quarterback. Here are a few options they might look at: Jaxson Dart from Ole Miss, Quinn Ewers from Texas, Kyle McCord from Syracuse, Will Howard from Ohio State, and Dillon Gabriel from Oregon.
The reason this matters is that if the Lions lose faith in Hooker’s development, they could trade him to a team in need of a starting quarterback, such as the Las Vegas Raiders or the New York Jets. While I believe the Lions still believe in Hooker, if they don’t, they’ll need to find a new backup for Jared Goff.