Lions waive former third-round pick Hendon Hooker after QB struggles throughout preseason, per report

The Detroit Lions made an anticipated yet notable move on Monday, as the club waived former third-round pick quarterback Hendon Hooker, according to NFL Media. Kyle Allen has officially won the Lions' backup quarterback battle. 

Hooker departs Detroit after suiting up in just three regular-season games over two years. He completed 6 of 9 passes for 62 yards. The writing has been on the wall for Hooker for months now. Not only did the Lions recruit Teddy Bridgewater out of retirement to serve behind Jared Goff for a potential playoff run last year, but Detroit also signed Allen to compete with Hooker this offseason. It was Allen who clearly looked like the better quarterback through the preseason.

In four exhibition games, Hooker completed 22 of 40 passes for 187 yards, zero touchdowns and three interceptions. Following the preseason, Lions coach Dan Campbell even alluded to a change of scenery benefitting the 27-year-old signal-caller. 

"How much development do you believe there is? We're talking about Hooker right now, how much development do you believe there still is? Sometimes, does the player need a change of scenery?" Campbell said after the Lions final preseason game over the weekend.

Hooker was selected by the Lions with the No. 68 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft out of Tennessee. The 2022 SEC Offensive Player of the Year fell in the draft after tearing his ACL in the second-to-last regular-season game at South Carolina. Hooker led the No. 1 offense in college football, as the Volunteers racked up an incredible 525.5 yards of total offense per game, and scored 46.1 points per contest.

During that impressive 2022 season, Hooker completed 69.6% of his passes for 3,135 yards, 27 touchdowns and just two interceptions. There were questions concerning how Hooker would handle the jump from a Josh Heupel scheme to an NFL offense. While Tennessee had the best offense in college football, that Vols system was up-tempo, and relied on spacing and speed that saw Jalin Hyatt win the Biletnikoff Award. This was not a pro-style offense that asked Hooker to go through typical progressions. It was a legitimate "con" on his prospect profile, and it's fair to say that weakness/inexperience stood out in Detroit.