Rookie quarterback Hendon Hooker is still a ways away from playing — if he even does this year — but April’s third-round pick has made some very noticeable strides in his recovery from a torn ACL in what have essentially been public rehab workouts over the past week.
Hooker took the field with a Detroit Lions trainer and three members of the support staff after practice Sunday, as he has after almost every practice of training camp.
He went through a quick warmup, throwing passes from progressively further distances, then began a scripted throwing session that had him throwing passes for simulated routes on short dropbacks in the red zone.
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Staff members lined up as stationary targets at the front of the end zone on the left side of the field, in the back left corner of the end zone and in the middle of the field near the goalpost, and Hooker threw a series of passes as his targets moved spots, looking off one read and throwing to the next.
Eight minutes into the session, he wiped sweat off his face with his red No. 12 jersey, then went through a few more progressions — with his targets eventually moving to catch red zone slants, fades and outs on the run — before heading back inside the Lions’ Allen Park practice facility.
“We’ve got him doing a workout. It’s around every other day to see how that knee responds post-practice,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “And we’ve got our training staff, our strength coaches that take him through a workout and it’s really scripted. And so it’s our plays, it’s our reads and so he goes through the drops, makes the play call, goes through the drops, throws and then has his sprint and he takes it down the field. … You’ll go through a 30-play script somewhere in there, and we just continue to build as he gets his conditioning up and the knee gets stronger, so that’s about as good as we can do right now.”
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The Lions are in no hurry to get the No. 96 overall pick on the field.
Hooker, who tore the ACL in his left knee last fall at Tennessee, is currently on the non-football injury list and isn’t expected to play in the preseason. Jared Goff is the Lions’ starter, Nate Sudfeld is his backup, Adrian Martinez is the third quarterback in camp and veteran Teddy Bridgewater could be waiting in the wings.
It’s far too early to say if Hooker is the Lions’ future, and a few throws — with no pass rush to stationary targets who aren’t even NFL receivers — offered no meaningful insight Sunday. Hooker throws a nice spiral, was on target with most of his throws and made his targets work for others, but that’s about the extent of what I could glean from Sunday’s throwing session.
Campbell said Hooker has been attentive behind closed doors in meetings, though, and it’s clear how far Hooker has come since he threw routes on air for the first time last month, when he told the Free Press he was “way ahead of schedule” in his recovery.
“He’s in the meetings, he’s being quizzed and so I think we’re doing about all we can do with him and he’s doing good, to answer your question,” Campbell said. “He’s doing good. There’s no setbacks. He’s working at it. It’s about it, really.”
More observations from Sunday’s practice:
Decker, Ragnow get a rest
The Lions had a light practice Sunday, working at a jog-through pace in jerseys and shorts after two days of pads, so today’s observations are relatively light. They’re back on the field for what should be a physical practice Monday before getting their second day off Tuesday.
Campbell did hold offensive linemen Frank Ragnow and Taylor Decker out of practice, giving his veteran linemen a day of rest on the eighth day of camp. The Lions took a similar approach with their veteran linemen last summer, wisely trying to keep two of their most important players healthy for the season.
Matt Nelson played left tackle, Graham Glasgow played center and Halapoulivaati Vaitai returned at right guard after missing Saturday’s practice with a back injury. Germain Ifedi also played right tackle with the first-team offense, with starter Penei Sewell in concussion protocol.
Rookies get reps with starters
The Lions worked two fields during team drills Sunday to give everyone their needed reps. Linebacker Jack Campbell and defensive lineman Brodric Martin, both rookies, took starting reps with the base defense for the second straight day. Campbell could open the season as the Lions’ starter next to Alex Anzalone, with Derrick Barnes playing in nickel packages. Martin should be a rotational player on the line, though I still think Isaiah Buggs is the starter next to Alim McNeill at this point.
Banged-up wideouts
Second-year wide reciever Jameson Williams returned on a limited basis from the hamstring injury he suffered last Monday. Williams declined an interview request coming off the field, but said he plans to speak to reporters at the podium Monday.
Rookie receiver Antoine Green also returned to practice for the first time since suffering heat exhaustion Friday. Fellow receiver Tom Kennedy, who reverted to injured reserve after he was waived with an injury designation this week, was on the field Sunday with his left arm in a sling. Kennedy appeared to suffer a shoulder injury in practice Friday.
Oh, Sheila
Lions owner/chair emeritus Martha Ford received a warm welcome from fans Sunday as she made first appearance at camp. Ford, 97, circled the practice field in a blue golf cart with her daughter, Lions owner Sheila Hamp. Fans on the far field cheered loudly, as they were encouraged to do by the family’s security detail, and at one point chanted, “Sheila, Sheila, Sheila.”
Hamp rightfully deserves credit for piloting the Lions into a new era. She took over as controlling owner in the summer of 2020, fired Matt Patricia and Bob Quinn that fall, and led the hiring team that pegged Campbell and Brad Holmes in January 2021 to run the Lions’ rebuild.
The Lions closed practice by running a play that Dan Campbell dedicated to Ford. In a video posted by the Lions on the social media site X (formerly Twitter), Jared Goff called out, “Martha, Martha, Martha,” as he went under center to take a snap and handed the ball to David Montgomery. Montgomery ran through a hole on the offensive line, then peeled to his right and presented the ball to Ford.
Several Lions rookies, including Jack Campbell and Jahmyr Gibbs, also stopped over to greet Ford on their way off the field.
Grading the O-line
The Lions have a clear top six on their offensive line: Sewell, Decker, Ragnow and Jonah Jackson are starters, with Glasgow and Vaitai battling for the right guard job. Either Ifedi or Nelson should win the swing tackle job, and the team has mostly rotated its backup interior options, with Kayode Awosika, Ross Pierschbacher and Logan Stenberg among those getting time on the first-team field during pre-practice installation.
Asked Sunday if any of backups have stood out so far in camp, Dan Campbell said, “No — not negatively, not positively.”
“You want somebody to separate themselves, that’s what we’re looking for is that next wave,” Campbell said. “There’s a group of guys that, let’s go. Somebody go take a job here. Somebody separate themselves from the other group and so there’s a lot of jockeying. I think they’re competing back there. And we’ve seen some good things out of all of them. You’re just constantly looking for — like Yode (Awosika) did some good things yesterday. Colby (Sorsdal is) getting a little bit better. Logan’s done a couple of things, but you’re wanting to see somebody separate themselves, so no, not yet.”
Sorsdal, an FCS-level tackle who is transitioning to guard in the NFL, should make the team as a fifth-round pick, which likely leaves one spot on the 53-man roster up for grabs.
Secondary priorities
One final personnel note for the day: C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch got some playing time together Sunday, with Gardner-Johnson playing as a safety and Branch serving as the Lions’ nickel cornerback.
Gardner-Johnson tied for the NFL lead with six interceptions while playing the most safety of his career last season with the Philadelphia Eagles. Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn used Gardner-Johnson primarily as a slot corner early in his career. Branch has had an impressive start to camp, and if he forces his way into the defensive backfield rotation as a rookie, it seems most likely to come as a slot corner, with Gardner-Johnson, Joseph and Tracy Walker divvying up the safety reps.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.