Former Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker made his NFL preseason debut on Thursday night after recovering from an ACL injury during his rookie season.
It was Hooker’s first game in 21 months as he was last seen on the field against South Carolina during his final season at Tennessee in 2022. Hooker’s dynamic ability still allowed him to be a third-round draft pick by the Lions in 2023 but the organization didn’t have any plans for his first year besides recovery.
There now looks to be another setback in Hooker’s road to the field, though.
After playing well during his debut, Hooker was placed in concussion protocol after just 19 snaps with the offense. It’s unclear which play specifically led to the concussion, but the former Vol did have four rushes on the night including a massive truck over Giants safety Gervarrius Owens. Fortunately, there was not a specific play that left Hooker injured and unmoving on the field. Hooker was also sacked once during his final 14-play drive.
Hendon Hooker lowering the boom to get the first down! 😳
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— NFL (@NFL) August 9, 2024
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Hooker made a stop in the injury tent before being escorted to the locker room following the third quarter.
“Yeah, he got a concussion, so he’s obviously in the protocol and he’ll be evaluated,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said of Hooker following the 14-3 preseason loss to New York. “I don’t know how long it’s going to be. I know he got his bell rung, so that’s what that was. Obviously, we would have loved to have gotten more time with him, but that’s one of those things that happens. One of his runs there he must have gotten it.”
Hooker was brought into the game during the third quarter as Detroit looked for any spark of offense. The former Tennessee quarterback led the first two drives of the second half before being pulled with the injury.
Hooker finished the game with 36 yards on 5-of-9 passing and was the Lions’ leading rusher with 34 yards on four carries.
Hooker’s first drive went for five plays as he scrambled for 12 total yards and completed his lone pass attempt for one yard on second down, but the drive stalled out and forced a Detroit punt.
The next drive for the former Vol went for 14 plays as he flashed signs of his old self on the field. Hooker and the offense drove the ball 88 yards down the field with Hooker completing a pair of third-down passes to move the chains. The drive made it all the way to the Giants’ 3-yard line but the Lions weren’t able to punch it in with Hooker’s 4th and 3 pass going incomplete.
Starting quarterback Nate Sudfeld closed out the game for the Lions after Hooker’s injury.
Prior to his concussion, Hooker was moving the ball well for a guy who hadn’t played live in-game football in nearly two years. The former Vol did a good job of operating the offense and showed off his dual-threat ability despite the concern it caused.
“Yeah, he moved the ball,” Campbell said. “He moved the ball and that’s really the best I can say to this point. He was moving the football, I thought he made some solid decisions before that. A lot of those were the runs, so he made it happen with his legs, but to the point where we were at, we didn’t convert on the fourth down, but it was good to get him in there. You were excited for the next series and then we found out what had happened. So, it was good, he was moving.”
Players in concussion protocol are typically out for 7-10 days and must complete a five-step process before they can be cleared to return to the field. We’ll keep our ears out to see what’s being said about Hooker’s timeline in the aftermath of his injury when it comes out this weekend.
