During the Detroit Lions 14 – 3 loss to the New York Giants last Thursday, they saw potential backup quarterback Hendon Hooker go down with injury. The injury he sustained was a concussion and it’s unclear of exactly when that injury occurred. Meanwhile, it seems unlikely that we’ll see Hooker play in the Lions second preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Today, Lions head coach Dan Campbell spoke to the media about the performance from certain players against the Giants and he provided injury updates for numerous players.
One of the players he discussed was Lions backup quarterback Hendon Hooker. Speaking to the media, Campbell had this to say when talking about Hooker and the concussion he sustained:
“Yeah, honestly, we don’t know. We don’t know where he’s gonna be. He’s not gonna be out there today. We probably won’t have him tomorrow. It’s looking less likely that we’ll have him in practice this week. Until Friday, uh, getting ready for the Chiefs. And that’s not a guarantee. Until, you know, he clears the concussion protocol. We’re on a hold with him right now.”
https://x.com/Lions/status/1822677230243221613
Campbell did talk highly of what he saw from Hooker during the two drives he played against the Giants. When talking to the media today, Campbell had this to say about what Hooker did offensively.
“As you guys saw, there was some encouraging things in there. You know, he was able to move the offense down the field. Saw a couple of things. Had a hot throw. Did a good job on one of his progressions, kicking it back out to the back. Had a couple of runs there. So for the limited snaps that he was in there, with a very limited package offensively, you know, it was promising.”
Additionally, Campbell said, “…there wasn’t a lot of reps, we don’t know until he’s ready to go. We’re on hold with him, really.”
Against the Giants, we saw Hooker finish 5-for-9 with 36 yards passing. Adding to that, he had 4 carries for 34 yards and one of his runs was capped off with him trucking a defender in the open field.
Listening to Dan Campbell, it feels unlikely that we’ll see Hooker play against the Chiefs this week. However, he still has a chance if he clears the concussion protocol. That said, I’d expect to see more of Nate Sudfeld and potentially someone else next week.