The Pro Football Hall of Fame Game came and went with the Los Angeles Chargers drubbing the Detroit Lions to the tune of 34-7 up in Canton, Ohio. It may have only been the most glorified of glorified exhibitions, but Jim Harbaugh was coaching on the other sidelines. We know how ridiculously competitive he and his older brother John Harbaugh can be whenever a game is played.
If there is any major takeaway from the game at hand, one where starters obviously did not play, it would have to be the state of the quarterback rooms behind their starters. We know that Jared Goff and Justin Herbert will be leading the Lions and Chargers out of the tunnel this fall, probably to a great deal of wins, I might add. However, this may be the end of the line for Hendon Hooker in Detroit.
The former star quarterback at Tennessee is no longer a serious quarterback prospect. Now in his third professional season, the 27-year-old quarterback from Greensboro, North Carolina might be out of the league before we know it. He has not been the same player since tearing his ACL near the tail-end of Tennessee's 2022 season. He is not getting any younger. Plus, he did not play well Thursday.
He completed 3-of-6 passes for 18 yards and an interception, in addition to being sacked two times.
Hendon Hooker no longer has any real trade value for the Detroit Lions
Not to say that he will never be traded, but I have a hard time seeing Hooker making this team over journeyman backup Kyle Allen. Although Allen is a little bit older than Hooker, he has had far more meaningful experience in the NFL out of Houston. The former blue-chipper out of high school never measured up in college at either Houston or Texas A&M before that, but he has worked in the NFL.
Allen has a 7-12 record as a starter in the NFL, with the bulk of that coming playing for Ron Rivera's Carolina Panthers way back in the day. He is not going to win you games, but he can give you all he has got in a pinch should Goff succumb to injury. When it comes to Hooker, it was always going to be difficult for his game to translate to the NFL. After all, he spent six years in college before turning pro.
This may only be Allen's first year with the Lions, but he still outplayed Hooker in his first game with the team, despite throwing two interceptions. Keep in mind that Ben Johnson is no longer calling the plays in Detroit from the offensive side of the ball. Detroit has plenty of talent all over the gridiron, but we have to wonder if coaching attrition is going to get the best of them in the end. We all hope not...
For now, Hooker has to play so much better in the Lions' other preseason games to make the team.