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The Detroit Lions have hopes that second-year quarterback Hendon Hooker could be back on the field by the end of next week after suffering a concussion in the team’s preseason loss to the New York Giants on August 8.
But that may not be soon enough for the team’s next preseason game, leading head coach Dan Campbell to hint that the team could bring in another quarterback. The Lions held starter Jared Goff out of their first preseason game, but would be down to just Goff and backup Nate Sudfeld if Hooker is unable to play in the team’s next preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs on August 17.
Dan Campbell Gives Outlook for Hendon Hooker
Hooker was injured during the 14-3 loss to the Giants, suffering what the team said was a concussion. Campbell told reporters before the team’s practice on Saturday that they hoped to have him back in time by the season opener on September 8.
“Yeah, honestly, we don’t know where he’s going to be, he’s not going to be out there today,” Campbell said. “We probably won’t have him tomorrow, and it’s looking less like we’ll have him in practice this week until Friday. We’ll get him ready for the Chiefs and that’s not a guarantee until you know, he obviously clears the concussion protocol then we’re on hold with him.”
Campbell hinted that the team may need to make a quick decision on whether to bring in another quarterback to split time with Sudfeld in the next preseason game.
“We talked about that this morning,” Campbell said. “That could come down to the wire, on today or tomorrow. There is a chance you know, and I think we’ll have a pretty good idea this afternoon as to, do we need to go ahead and do that, just to make sure we got a guy other than Nate (Sudfeld), you know for the game.”
Encouraging Play from Second-Year Quarterback
The preseason loss to the Giants was the first chance for Campbell and the Lions coaching staff to evaluate Hooker in live game action. He spent the majority of his rookie season rehabbing a torn ACL that cut short his final season at Tennessee, returning to the active roster later in the season but serving as the team’s emergency quarterback.
Hooker earned some good reviews from Campbell through the team’s early practices and was sharp in limited action on Thursday.
The Lions head coach said he was encouraged by what he saw from Hooker, who is slated to serve as the No. 2 quarterback behind Goff this season.
“There were some encouraging things in there,” Campbell said. “You know, he was able to move the offense down the field, he saw a couple of things, had a high throw, did a good job on one of his progressions kicking it out to the running back, you know, had a couple of runs there. So for the limited snaps that he was in there with a very limited package offensively, he was promising.”
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