Former Detroit Lions quarterback Hendon Hooker is off to a new NFL destination, one with a familiar face at the helm.
Hooker signed to the practice squad of the New York Jets, adding depth to a banged-up quarterback room and reuniting Hooker with former Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn. Hooker has now bounced around the league a bit since leaving the Lions, but could find an opportunity to see playing time with the bottom-dwelling Jets.
Jets Already Turned to Another Former Lions Quarterback
The Jets had previously brought in Lions quarterback Adrian Martinez, who spent time in Detroit in the summer of 2023 before being released and going on to make the all-UFL team the next year. Martinez signed last week and was elevated from the practice squad to serve as backup to Brady Quinn in Week 15, with both Tyrod Taylor and Justin Fields unavailable.
Martinez was released earlier this week, leaving the Jets with another opening in the quarterback room. Glenn said the team was looking at quarterbacks “just in case” and believed that Hooker had something to add to the team.
âWe always want to make sure that we are prepared. Same thing when we brought Adrian [Martinez] in last week,” Glenn said. “If both quarterbacks didnât have a chance of actually making it, we still got somebody that we have in the hole. Plus, he is a good player. I had him in Detroit, and if you watch him, look at his stats, you look at the way he throws the ball â he is a talent. The thing that we want to do is try to make sure that we develop that talent. Anytime that we can add good players to our team, we are going to do that.â
Hooker was seen as an intriguing prospect coming out of Tennessee in the 2023 NFL draft, but spent his rookie season with the Lions recovering from a torn ACL that he suffered in college. The former SEC Offensive Player of the Year struggled to find a place in Detroit, earning a job as backup to Jared Goff in his second season before ultimately being replaced by veteran Teddy Bridgewater late in the year.
Lions Have Narrow Path to the Playoffs
The Lions face a critical stretch of the season, likely needing wins in all three of their remaining games for a shot at reaching the postseason. Though the Lions have been a resilient team this season — responding well to each loss and extending the team’s streak of not suffering back-to-back losses to more than three years — quarterback Jared Goff said there are limitations to that resiliency.
âIf we want to stop getting that question, we got to start stringing some together,â Goff told reporters this week. âWe got to bounce back this week and then string them together.â
The path starts with the Pittsburgh Steelers and former rival Aaron Rodgers. The Lions close out the season with games against division rivals Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears, giving them an outside chance at a third straight division title if they can get some help along the way.
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