The Lions have a starting quarterback. They also now have the heir apparent to Jared Goff, having drafted Hendon Hooker in the third round.
Hooker, who is rehabbing from a torn anterior cruciate ligament, is not expected to play this season.
“Really, this is a redshirt year for him,” Lions coach Dan Campbell told Chris Long on the Green Light Podcast, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “He’s got to get this leg right first, and then he’ll learn under Jared, and then let’s see what happens. If he can eventually become your two or maybe down the road, later on, it’s more than that, but it’s going to be a long time.”
Hooker, who injured his left knee in a Nov. 19 game against South Carolina, is doing low-gravity running and recently resumed taking dropbacks. He has said he is not putting a timetable on his return.
The Lions “like” that Hooker, who is 25, is older.
Now, he gets a chance to sit, watch and learn from Goff, who was kept in the loop by the Lions that they might draft a quarterback.
“To be able to get him where we did — we traded back twice and we were still able to acquire him — we felt like that was, everything played out just the right way for us,” Campbell said. “We were excited, and to your point, yes, Goff is going to handle it well. He knew. [General Manager] Brad [Holmes] had called him, and he’s great. And he’ll help this guy just learn and grow.”