When the Detroit Lions took quarterback Hendon Hooker in the third round (pick No. 68 overall) in the 2023 draft, they knew he would have what amounted to a redshirt rookie season as he worked his way back from a torn ACL late in his final college season at Tennessee.

Moving toward last season, Hooker was the easy favorite to be the Lions’ No. 2 quarterback. A finger injury lingered from OTAs into training camp, which seems to have impacted how quickly he usurped the unremarkable Nate Sudfeld in that position battle.

Hooker saw some action in the Lions’ blowout wins over the Dallas Cowboys, Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars during the regular season. But amid rumored interest in Daniel Jones during the season and the late-December signing of Teddy Bridgewater, it has become easy to question if Hooker has a future with the Lions.

Bridgewater was also elevated to the No. 2 quarterback spot over Hooker for the playoff game against the Washington Commanders. It seems the Lions are ready to find a different backup for Jared Goff if they can.

On last Friday’s edition of “PFT Live” with Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, NBC “Sunday Night Football” analyst Rodney Harrison pointed to the New York Jets as the top potential trade suitor for Hooker.

“I’m gonna tell ya exactly what I’m gonna do”, Harrison said. “I’m gonna call Detroit, and say ‘hey, I’m very interested in Hendon Hooker, your backup quarterback’. He’s healthy, he was a Heisman guy, until he got hurt at the University of Tennessee. I think this young man, I got a chance to see him often, he’s big, he’s smart, he’s an older guy, because he spent a lot of time in college…he’s very mature. But I would trade for Hendon Hooker. Watch out for that name.”

Do the Lions have a sneaky plan with Hendon Hooker?

Florio brought up Bridgewater being signed off the street after leading his high school alma mater to a state title and elevated over Hooker as the No. 2 quarterback for the playoff game as a possible concern.

Harrison continued to pull no punches in his praise of Hooker.

“You know Mike I was thinkin’ about that, because I was very frustrated because I thought Hendon would get his opportunity”, Harrison said. “Then I started thinkin’ ‘this kid is a really good player, maybe they don’t want the rest of the league to see this kid play and see how good this kid is.”

Harrison overlooked that Hooker’s “opportunity” for the playoff game against the Commanders would have been to be in uniform, as he had been all season, and he only would have played if something happened to Jared Goff or it was another blowout win. Goff did leave the game briefly in concussion protocol, and Bridgewater played one series that ended quickly with Jameson Williams’ 61-yard touchdown run.

Florio took it to the tentacle of if it comes out the Jets want Hooker and the Lions say no, then they might believe they have something and “aren’t ready to deploy it.”

Florio cited an example from 2006, when Sean Payton left the Dallas Cowboys to become the New Orleans Saints coach and tried to trade for Tony Romo. Then Romo became the Cowboys’ starting quarterback the following season. So if it plays out that the Jets want Hooker, or anyone else wants him for that matter, and the Lions don’t let him go, Florio wonders when they might “take the baton from Jared Goff and give it to Hendon Hooker.”

Harrison sort of backed up the idea of Hooker replacing Goff at some point, with the notion that playing Hooker may invite questions about why the Lions paid Goff like they did.

All in all, launched by the idea the Jets should be very interested in him, Harrison made Hooker out to be something we simply haven’t seen so far as an NFL quarterback. Which isn’t to say he can’t be a starter, but he’s 27 years old. So if the Lions have some sort of sneaky plan to have him replace Goff (they probably don’t, and shouldn’t), the clock is ticking. Otherwise, the door should be wide open for trade offers.

Could Myles Garrett be the next big acquisition for the Detroit Lions? Former NFL GM Mike Tannenbaum thinks so. During a recent appearance on “Get Up,” Tannenbaum predicted that Detroit will land the Cleveland Browns’ star pass rusher, making the case that it’s a perfect move for the Lions.

Why Myles Garrett Makes Sense for Detroit

Tannenbaum believes the Lions are in a prime position to contend for a Super Bowl, and Garrett could be the key piece to take them over the top. He said, “This just makes too much sense. If you’re the Detroit Lions, you have a chance to win right now and when you have to beat San Francisco, Philadelphia, Green Bay (and) Minnesota, you’ve got to beat some great passing games.”

Aidan Hutchinson’s Recovery & the Case for Garrett

With Aidan Hutchinson recovering from injury and Za’Darius Smith added to the fold, Tannenbaum sees Garrett as the final ingredient the Lions need. He added, “You have (Aidan) Hutchinson coming off injury. I liked the Za’Darius Smith addition, but go get a Hall of Famer in his 20’s. He may get you over the hump.”

Cleveland’s Rebuilding Dilemma

Tannenbaum also addressed the challenges of acquiring Garrett, noting that the Browns have maintained their commitment to him. Still, he believes a trade is possible if Cleveland decides to rebuild: “If you’re Cleveland rebuilding, get as many assets as you can get.”

The Bottom Line

With Garrett on their roster, the Lions would have one of the most formidable pass-rushing duos in the league. If this trade happens, Detroit’s Super Bowl aspirations would become much more realistic.

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The Detroit Lions are adding a new offensive coach from the college ranks with a national championship pedigree to Dan Campbell’s staff. Iowa State assistant head coach and running backs coach Tyler Roehl will be joining as an offensive assistant, CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz reported on February 11, 2025.

Roehl was a 7-time FCS National Champion while coaching at his alma mater, North Dakota State, as a graduate assistant, running backs and tight ends coach and offensive coordinator, according to his biography on the Iowa State website. He joined the Cyclones staff in 2024 after spending 2014 to 2023 in North Dakota.

Roehl, 39, joins new offensive coordinator John Morton, who was hired from the Denver Broncos to replace Ben Johnson after Johnson left to lead the Chicago Bears. Morton was the passing game coordinator in Denver for one season after spending 2022 as a senior offensive assistant with the Lions under Campbell.

The Lions have also hired former Stanford University head coach David Shaw from the Broncos as their passing game coordinator and former NFL QB Bruce Gradkowski as an offensive assistant. Gradkowski was the offensive coordinator for the St. Louis Battlehawks of the XFL/UFL for two seasons.

The Cyclones went 11-3 in 2024, reaching the Big 12 conference championship game and then beating the Miami Hurricanes in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. Roehl is the second offensive coordinator from Iowa State coach Matt Campbell’s staff to make the jump to the NFL in two years. Nate Scheelhaase left the Cyclones to become the passing game coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams after the 2023 season.

Before taking the job at Iowa State, Roehl’s North Dakota State Bison offense averaged 38.1 points per game, which was the 3rd-best in the FCS in 2023.

“As coordinator in 2023, NDSU had one of the most prolific offenses in FCS. The Bison led the nation in rushing yards (3,560), rushing touchdowns (47) and overall touchdowns (74). In his five seasons leading the offense, NDSU ranked among the top five nationally in rushing offense four times and paced the nation in rushing touchdowns in three straight seasons,” the Iowa State website says. “Roehl coached five FCS All-Americans and 11 players who combined for 15 all-conference honors.”

Roehl is from West Fargo, North Dakota, and was an All-American running back for the Bison. He played for North Dakota State from 2004 to 2006 and was the starting running back for two seasons, rushing for 1,431 yards with 21 touchdowns in 2007 and 1,053 yards for 13 touchdowns in 2008.

Roehl was signed by the Seattle Seahawks in 2009 as an undrafted free agent, but tore his ACL during offseason workouts, according to InForum. He was part of a rookie camp for the Minnesota Vikings the next season but his playing career ended after that.

Roehl started his coaching career as the running backs coach at Concordia College in Minnesota in 2010. He spent a season as an offensive graduate assistant at North Dakota State and two seasons as a high school coach in Moorhead, Minnesota, before he was hired as the tight ends/fullbacks coach by the Bison in 2014.

Tom Cleary is an editor and reporter who covers breaking news, fantasy sports, golf, the NFL, NBA and UFC. Tom is based in Connecticut and started his career working in local newspapers. He has worked at Heavy as a writer and editor since 2015. More about Tom Cleary

Even months after the Lions drafted Gibbs, there were takes that have aged incredibly poorly after he has earned two Pro Bowl selections in as many seasons with double-digit rushing touchdowns in both campaigns.

Some people thought the pivot from Swift and Jamaal Williams to Montgomery and Gibbs was inconsequential-or that Montgomery was a downgrade from Williams.

It’s easy to be shown as wrong with the benefit of hindsight, and if you cover sports long enough (or not long at all) you’ll end up wrong sometimes. But it’s rare to get an opportunity to own a bad take in front of the person you had the bad take about.

NFL analyst owns bad Jahmyr Gibbs take, in-person

Montgomery and Gibbs did the promotional circuit together on behalf of Bounty this week in New Orleans. On “NFL Daily” with Gregg Rosenthal and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic, Rosenthal took ownership of a bad tweet after the Lions drafted Gibbs.

“You guys are the subject of the worst tweet I ever had”, Rosenthal said, after saying he wanted to make an apology. “And Lions fans have never let me forget it…”

Here is the offending tweet, from April 29, 2023.

Any screenshots that are out there would make sure it lived forever in infamy, but Rosenthal has never deleted the tweet and after talking to Gibbs and Montgomery he noted how he apologized in person.

It was actually Montgomery who said Rosenthal needed to “eat that for a lot longer”, after he “pleaded” for them to have Lions fans get off his back. Gibbs said “that should stay on ya” and joked that Rosenthal must be “standing on it” if he hasn’t deleted the tweet.

Here’s the clip.

Bad sports takes usually live without whoever gave them having to own it in-person. The NFL convention that is “Radio Row” during Super Bowl week gave Rosenthal a unique opportunity to own up to his bad take about Gibbs (and Montgomery). Good for him, but it also seems the Lions’ running back duo relished their opportunity to have fun with Rosenthal about it.