The Detroit Lions took Hendon Hooker in the third round of last week’s NFL draft, but that does not guarantee he will be their quarterback of the future.
Lions general manager Brad Holmes said Tuesday on 97.1 WXYT-FM that the organization has discussed a new contract with quarterback Jared Goff.
“Yeah, we’ve had (internal) dialogue there. We’ve had dialogue with his agent and we’re in a good place right now,” Holmes said. The word “internal” was not audible during the interview due to a bad phone connection.
Goff, who turns 29 in October, helped the Lions vault into playoff contention last season with one of the best years of his career. He threw for 4,438 yards and 29 touchdowns while completing 65% of his passes, and did not throw an interception in the Lions’ final nine games.
The Lions, coming off their first winning record since 2017, are the favorites to win the NFC North this fall, which would put them in line to host their first playoff game in 30 years.
They passed on taking a quarterback with a top-10 pick for the fifth straight year – the Lions traded down from No. 6 and took Alabama running back Jahmyr Gibbs with the 12th pick of the first round – but grabbed Hooker near the top of Round 3, No. 68 overall.
More: Hendon Hooker is part insurance policy, part lottery ticket for Detroit Lions
Hooker was considered a potential first-round pick, but slipped because of concerns about his age (25), injury history (he’s returning from a torn ACL) and the spread offense he played in at Tennessee.
Holmes acknowledged during the draft that Hooker will need developmental time before he’s ready to play in the NFL.
“Obviously he’ll be a rookie and he’s going to have to transition into playing in a different type of scheme, but we’re really excited about his upside, so how NFL ready are a lot of quarterbacks that you acquire?” Holmes said. “And that’s just part of the normal development process and again, just a testament of I think we have the right situation for him, just to come and sit back, see how Jared and (backup) Nate (Sudfeld) do things and just develop.”
Hooker will likely spend the majority of the 2023 season redshirting, similar to what the Lions did with No. 12 overall pick Jameson Williams in his return from a torn ACL last year. Williams played in six late-season games as a backup for the Lions last season, catching one pass and carrying one time.
If Hooker does not play this season, or see any time in training camp, he will have three years left on his rookie contract before the Lions get him meaningful snaps on the field.
Goff, acquired in the Matthew Stafford trade in 2021 as a salary dump by the Los Angeles Rams, got off to a rocky start in Detroit but oversaw one of the NFL’s best offenses last year. The Lions finished fifth in the NFL in points scored and fourth in total offense, and return most of their key weapons this fall.
More: The final math on the Matthew Stafford trade: 8 teams, 28 draft picks, 30 players involved
Goff is not likely to approach the new contracts Jalen Hurts (five years, $255 million) and Lamar Jackson (reportedly five years, $260 million, but not yet finalized) received this offseason, but he is in line for a major payday on his next deal.
The No. 1 pick of the 2016 draft, Goff still has two years and $52.95 million on the extension he signed with the Rams in 2019 – one that quickly seemed onerous and was a big reason the Rams moved on to Stafford, but now appears to be a bargain. Goff’s salary cap number is a manageable $30.975 million.
While most of the NFL’s top quarterbacks now command $50 million-plus annually in new money – Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers and Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals also are in line for new deals this offseason – Goff projects to be a tier down in compensation.
Stafford signed a three-year, $129 million extension ($41 million annually) with the Rams after winning the Super Bowl last year, Kyler Murray is playing on a five-year, $230.5 million deal ($46.1 million) and Derek Carr signed a four-year, $150 million deal as a free agent this offseason ($37.5 million annually).
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.