Lions head coach Dan Campbell said this week that the team views 2023 as a redshirt year for third-round pick Hendon Hooker because the quarterback is coming off of a torn ACL and Hooker said on Saturday that it’s difficult for him to take things slowly.
Hooker explained that he wants “to do things that I can’t really do right now, in terms of just speeding my feet up and putting a lot of pressure on that left leg and trying to change directions” and that he’s trying to just take things one day at a time while finding other ways to improve until he’s cleared for full physical activity.
“Entering this first year is the same motto, same mentality I’ve had all my life, let’s get better every day,” Hooker said, via Eric Woodyard of ESPN.com. “You’ll never stay the same; you either get better or you get worse, and I don’t wanna have any decline in my game so I’m continuing to work my tail off, day-to-day, mental reps, taking reps behind the quarterbacks that are in and just playing the game in my mind until I can actually get out there, but I’m still preparing and I’m hungry. I’m ready to compete.”
While Hooker is recovering, Jared Goff will be playing quarterback for the Lions and the veteran’s play will have a lot to do with when and if Hooker is actually in position to compete for playing time in Detroit.