As the Lions enter the season looking to win their first division title since 1993, Jared Goff is secure in his role as QB1.
But behind him, Nate Sudfeld looks like he’ll enter the season as the team’s backup.
While Detroit selected Hendon Hooker out of Tennessee in the third round of this year’s draft, head coach Dan Campbell has said that 2023 will be a redshirt year for the QB as he recovers from a torn ACL. The Lions also picked up Adrian Martinez as an undrafted free agent and he’s serving as the team’s third QB during the offseason program.
“I love the [QBs] room right now,” offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said last week, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “There’s a great camaraderie in there and I think that’s really important when you define that backup quarterback position. It’s not only a guy that can go in and win games, but for the majority of the season, if all things go right, he’s there to support that starter and we have that. We have that right now, not only with Nate and Hendon and Adrian.”
The Lions also expressed interest in free agent Teddy Bridgewater earlier in the offseason but nothing came to fruition between the two parties.
So, for now the Lions will continue with Sudfeld and Martinez behind Goff with Hooker also in the room learning.
“We’ve got a really good group,” Johnson said. “They’re learning, they’re growing. And once again, we’re evaluating consistently, we’re putting pressure on them consistently to see what they can do out on the field in team settings.
“The truth really comes out, I believe, when you have the bullets flying for real, which we can’t have right now,” Johnson added. “So, the training camp will tell us a lot about where we’re at behind Jared, but so far, feel really good about that room.”