Lions rookie QB Hendon Hooker could start practicing this week amid ACL recovery
Hendon Hooker, the rookie quarterback for the Detroit Lions, may start practicing as early as this week, according to head coach Dan Campbell’s announcement on Monday.
The Tennessee native, who was selected in the third round by the NFL, Hooker has been out of action since July due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) he suffered during his senior season in November of last year.
According to Justin Rogers of The Detroit News, Campbell responded, “I think we will,” when asked if the team would begin Hooker’s practice window. “I discussed it with [General Manager] Brad Holmes last week.”
Despite not being allowed to train, Hooker has attended meetings the whole season. For Campbell, seeing the 25-year-old on the practice field will be a “big” moment.
Campbell remarked, “We can’t coach him by rules.” “He can attend meetings, but he cannot perform any basic labor outside of the building. All you have to do is kind of stand there. That’s why it’s beneficial to be able to work one-on-one with him and make quick progress. That explains its size. Being able to do some of those things with him would be lovely. You must therefore add him to the roster. The regulations forbid him from doing any of that in any other case.
The Lions will have three weeks after Hooker starts training to determine whether to add him to the active roster or put him on injured reserve for the remainder of the season.
Hendon Hooker inching closer to practice debut with Lions
After the 2020 season, Hooker transferred from Virginia Tech to Tennessee, where he spent two seasons as one of the top quarterbacks in the country. He completed 68.9% of his passes for 6,080 yards, 58 touchdowns, and five interceptions in 24 games. Prior to the injury, Hooker was among the favorites to win the 2022 Heisman Trophy. In the voting, he came in fifth.
Holmes claimed that after watching Hooker outduel former Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson and current Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck last season, he fell in love.
Holmes reportedly stated, “I saw things in that live game that you can’t see on tape,” according to Kyle Meinke of MLive.com. “It was his pace and sense of urgency all through the game. He was playing with an extreme urgency. The way he was playing the run game was aggressive. acting aggressively in that passing game. I simply enjoy the style of play he was doing.
“And some small things kind of stuck out to me, like when he would score a touchdown and instead of sitting on the bench with his headphones on or speaking with the coach in the box, he would stand on the sidelines and wait to applaud his team for an extra point. Small things like that are what really show..
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