The Lions’ unofficial depth chart still shows Hendon Hooker as the backup to Jared Goff, even though it has become increasingly obvious that Hooker is not long for Detroit.
The real question is whether the Lions fully trust Kyle Allen to be the backup to Jared Goff.
Hooker has struggled to be good enough for the Lions. Coach Dan Campbell has been surprisingly candid about that. And, as Campbell has recently said, Hooker may need “a change of scenery.”
Does that mean the Lions will have the proper confidence in Allen?
The 29-year-old Allen was undrafted in 2018. He has spent time with Carolina, Washington, Houston, Buffalo, and Pittsburgh. He has quietly amassed 19 starts (with a 7-12 record) as part of 31 regular-season appearances.
He has completed 442 of 705 passes, for 4,475 yards. He has thrown 26 touchdown passes against 21 interceptions.
Allen held his own last year in Pittsburgh. Early in camp, some thought he was as good if not better than Russell Wilson and Justin Fields.
Still, are the Lions willing to let Allen be one play away from playing? That depends largely on the options.
As far as anyone knows, they’re not looking. But maybe they’re just being discreet about it.
Plenty of moves will happen in the coming days. It’s clear that the Lions moving on from Hooker, a third-round pick in 2023, will be one of them. It’s less clear whether they’ll bring in another quarterback who may take Hooker’s current unofficial status as QB2.
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