The Detroit Lions have some of the same players that they have for the past few winning seasons, but the team has also had to say farewell to some players as the 2025-26 run approaches. Of course, one of the most talked-about situations in the Lions’ camp is their backup quarterback issue. If, God forbid, Jared Goff were to go down, they don’t have a really reliable slate of backup quarterbacks to take his place.
The Lions parted ways with their backup quarterback of a few years, Hendon Hooker, on August 26. Hooker just never performed his best with this team, and the final straw was his preseason performance. But, Hooker was quickly signed by the Carolina Panthers, so his NFL story is still being told.
It wasn’t a surprise that Hooker was waived. Head coach Dan Campbell hadn’t said anything in the past year that indicated they planned on keeping Hooker for the long-term. The Lions apparently weren’t able to drum up trade interest for him, either.
Former Lions Quarterback Sends Message to Detroit
Before Hooker was released, Campbell suggested that he needed a change of scenery. Well, he got it.
“Look, it’s always how much development do you believe there is,” Campbell said in a conference last week. “Because look, we are talking about Hooker right now. How much development do you believe there still is? Sometimes does the player need a change of scenery?”
He added, “What about our depth in other areas? I mentioned this the other day, relative to that – all right, maybe there is room to grow. Is that worth it for the depth we need at O-Line, D-Line, receiver, [defensive back]? And so those are all things you have to weigh.”
Play
Now, Hooker has signed with the Carolina Panthers. The former Lions signal-caller spoke with reporters in Carolina about his move to the Panthers and had a little dig at the Lions’ front office and coaching staff during his chat.
“I just wanted to go somewhere I was wanted,” Hooker said. “And wanted to develop and learn, and Coach told me that he would like me to come learn under him, and we have a great bond from the draft process, just reminiscing on those talks that we had then, I’m eager to learn from him.”
A New Season for the Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions will open their regular season against the Green Bay Packers at Ford Field on Sunday, September 7, 2025, at 4:25 p.m. Eastern time. While the Packers were already viewed as one of the strongest teams in the NFC North, next to the Lions, they just got even stronger with the addition of Micah Parsons from the Dallas Cowboys.
“Everything happens for a reason,” Parsons, a three-time Pro Bowler, said after the news broke. “It’s a blessing in disguise.” He added that Green Bay “is the place where I feel I can take my next step and continue to have a great legacy here.”
Let’s hope he doesn’t make the Lions’ Week 1 matchup too difficult.
