Hendon Hooker has tried to be the first player at the Detroit Lions practice facility most days this spring. On Tuesday, Day 1 of mandatory minicamp, the rookie quarterback was the last player on the field.
Hooker took an important step in his recovery from the torn ACL he suffered last November, throwing routes on air Tuesday for the first time since surgery. He took short drops near the goal line on a far practice field after most of his teammates had retreated to the locker room, firing passes to Trinity Benson (who also is recovering from a knee injury) and undrafted rookie Chad Cota.
“Felt pretty good to get back out here moving,” Hooker told the Free Press after practice. “I’m excited.”
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Hooker, who also tore the meniscus in his left knee, said he is “way ahead of schedule” in his recovery from an injury he suffered Nov. 19 in his final college game at Tennessee. He underwent surgery in December, spent six weeks on crutches and returned to low-impact running earlier this spring.
On Monday, Lions director of health and performance Brett Fischer casually told Hooker it was time to progress to throwing routes, and Hooker said he spent all day Tuesday thinking about his return.
“All day it was on my mind,” he said. “I’m thinking like, ‘I wonder how I’ll throw it today.’ But I felt pretty good. Missed one ball to end it out, but it felt good. I felt I put the ball where I wanted to. As soon as my feet can match my thought process then (it will be even better). Really, they’re just not moving as fast I want them to.”
A third-round pick in April, Hooker has earned praise from coaches and teammates the past month for his work ethic and demeanor.
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Lions quarterback Jared Goff called Hooker a quick learner Tuesday and said he has “been fun to have in the room,” and Hooker said he’s spent his time at practice listening to plays on a walkie talkie and taking mental reps in his head.
“Just observing everything. Little things, big things, things that the coaches are telling us that we should look for on plays,” Hooker said. “What’s the defense giving us? Really just trying to play every play out like I’m in the huddle, so I’m listening to the walkie talkie, simulating it being in my ear, then I’ll speak it out. Some running backs or O-line might be around me, so they’ll ask, ‘Hey, what’s the play?’ I’ll just spit it back to them, and then I’ll talk through the play of, ‘Hey, what do we got here? What do got there? What’s the defense giving us? What’s the mike point?’ Things of that nature.”
Lions coach Dan Campbell said after the draft Hooker likely will need a redshirt season this fall, and despite his progress so far, that might still be the case.
Hooker said Tuesday he’s not sure if he’ll be take part in training camp.
“That’s very fast,” he said. “Especially since other guys with the same injury, they’re nine months (before they return).”
For now, he can throw routes on air twice a week and he feels good with where he’s at.
“When I get back to feeling like the player that I am, doing the things that I know I can do, then I’ll be ready to rock and roll,” he said. “I’m only five months out so the stuff I’m doing is way ahead of schedule.”
More observations from Tuesday’s
⋅ The Lions are keeping a host of players out of practice this week, though Campbell said no one is dealing with an injury of any concern. Benson, running back David Montgomery, linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez, center Frank Ragnow, cornerback Emmanuel Moseley, defensive tackle Levi Onwuzurike and tight end James Mitchell were among those who did not practice Tuesday, and the Lions continue to hold left tackle Taylor Decker and right guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai out of many team drills.
Ross Pierschbacher and Graham Glasgow have taken most of the first-team reps at center, Glasgow also is seeing time at guard, and Matt Nelson played left tackle in the Lions’ long team period Tuesday.
⋅ Rookie tight end Sam LaPorta had a strong showing in team drills Tuesday. LaPorta, a second-round pick out of Iowa, caught at least two touchdowns in red zone work (I didn’t have a great vantage point for the first four plays of the period) and was open on one other play when UDFA quarterback Adrian Martinez was late finding him in the end zone.
LaPorta made a nice catch on a Goff pass that sailed just over a leaping Alex Anzalone’s hands in the back of the end zone, then beat Ifeatu Melifonwu for a jump ball touchdown from backup Nate Sudfeld.
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LaPorta did have one double catch, when a secured a ball after it hit his chest, but he has been sharp in practices this spring and should be the Lions’ No. 1 receiving option at tight end this fall.
“He’s done a great job. He really has,” Goff said. “Gets himself open. Able to separate, has great hands, is smart, is learning. Making rookie mistakes still, but is getting a lot better and you don’t really see him make the same mistake twice, which is encouraging. But yeah, he’s done a hell of a job.”
⋅ One player who stood out on the defensive side of the ball Tuesday was C.J. Gardner-Johnson. One of the Lions’ top free agent additions of the offseason, Gardner-Johnson had one would-be sack (or quarterback hit, at least) on a blitz against the Lions’ third-team offense and made another would-be tackle-for-loss on a dump off to running back Jahmyr Gibbs with the ones.
Gardner-Johnson seems to have a playmaking gene about him, and it helps that he can line up deep, in the slot or near the line of scrimmage. More than that, though, it’s hard not to notice the energy he brings to the field. Whether it’s trash-talking the offense (something fellow safety Tracy Walker also does well) or dancing to the music that plays during practice, Gardner-Johnson is a ball of energy whose juice is contagious to those around him.
⋅ A couple other plays of note from team period: Rookie safety Brian Branch had a nice pass breakup on a throw from Nate Sudfeld to Maurice Alexander in the end zone, Josh Reynolds caught touchdowns on back-to-back passes from Sudfeld, and James Houston had two nice rushes against the Lions’ backup offensive line. He’d be an easy bet for double-digit sacks if he faced that kind of competition on a regular basis.
⋅ In situational work, the Lions gave their offense a first-and-10 from their own 25-yard line, with 28 seconds on the clock and three timeouts in a 24-23 game.
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Goff led the first-team offense into field goal range, throwing a short checkdown to Kalif Raymond on first down, missing a bomb to Raymond deep on second down and connecting with Jameson Williams for a third-and-4 pickup of 32 yards against Cam Sutton.
On first-and-10 from the 37 with 8 seconds on the clock, Reynolds beat Sutton on a quick slant to set up a 44-ish-yard field goal that Riley Patterson missed off the right upright.
Sudfeld picked up two first downs with the second-team offense, completing short passes to Gibbs, Marvin Jones and Shane Zylstra before connecting with Williams on a second-and-1 conversion near midfield. Defensively, the secondary did a good job limiting yards after catch, with cornerback Jarren Williams taking the sideline away from Jones and tagging Williams down right after his catch.
That left Parker Romo with a 53-or-so-yard field goal that he kicked short and to the right into a wind.
⋅ Romo outkicked Patterson in front of reporters at OTAs last week, but he didn’t have as good a day Tuesday. The former XFL star was 3 of 5, making from distances of about 38, 43 and 43 yards and missing wide right from 46.
Patterson was 4 of 5 on the day. He glanced one of his 43-yarders off the upright and through, and closed with a make from that distance as the Lions simulated running their field goal unit on for a last-second try after having a ball carrier downed with time expiring in the field of play.
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⋅ Branch had a second pass breakup on a Sudfield pass to Alexander in seven-on-seven drills late in practice. The rookie is probably the Lions’ fourth safety, behind Gardner-Johnson, Walker and Kerby Joseph, but if he’s around the ball like he was Tuesday, defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn will find a spot for him on the field. He can play both safety and slot cornerback, and he’s part of the reason Melifonwu, a third-round pick in 2021, is on the roster bubble.
⋅ I didn’t see all of seven-on-sevens as I was interviewing Jonah Jackson during part of the period, but Sutton did have a nice pass breakup on a Goff throw to Amon-Ra St. Brown, when he made just enough contact to force a bobble as St. Brown stepped out of bounds.
Melifonwu (on a Sudfeld pass to Raymond) and Saivion Smith (on a Martinez throw to Cota) also had PBUs in the period. It’s super early, but the Lions’ revamped secondary does appear to be getting its hands on more passes, which is welcome news for a defense that had 12 interceptions (tied for 19th in the NFL) last season.
⋅ The Lions need a new personal protector for their punt team after cutting C.J. Moore following his gambling suspension, and they gave Smith and Brady Breeze a shot at the job Tuesday.
Here’s what special teams coordinator Dave Fipp said he’s looking for in that position last month: “That position’s like a quarterback. You would love a guy who has some natural leadership qualities that’s got a little charisma to him that the other players rally around. (Moore) did a great job for us. Obviously, we’ll miss him, but yeah, we got to figure out who that’s going to be, and right now honestly we’re not totally sure.”
Raymond likely will handle punt returns for the Lions again, but Williams, Reynolds, Alexander and St. Brown all took reps there Tuesday. Williams dropped one punt on a ball he appeared to misjudge.
⋅ Former New York Giants coach Pat Shurmur was a guest at practice Tuesday. Shurmur, a Michigan native, is taking a year off after being let go as part of the Denver Broncos staff last year. Lions owner Sheila Hamp and her husband, Steve, also were at Tuesday’s practice.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.