The Detroit Lions' backup quarterback battle is the premier battle at training camp this summer. There are no starting jobs up for grabs, so all the focus goes to Hendon Hooker vs Kyle Allen. For much of the summer, it has seemed neck and neck, but Allen has taken a strong lead after the preseason games, especially on Friday night.
When Lions head coach Dan Campbell was asked about both Allen and Hooker's games on Friday night, he took the time to only answer about one of them, and that was Allen.
I thought Kyle played really well, man. I was fired up. I mean, it was outstanding. He comes in the game, you know, he wasn't gonna play till the second half, and we get him in there. So it's kind of like, 'Hey, man, you're up' and 'Okay, I got to be ready to go now?' He gets out there and immediately gives us a boost." Campbell said. "Makes two huge throws in the first drive, he's in there. I thought he was on point with the checks, the kills, motion landmarks, the whole thing. He operated the offense at a high level and made big-time throws. So I was fired up."
Maybe we do this a little too much, but since 2021, when you watch Dan Campbell talk or listen to him, you can kind of read between the lines a little. The most infamous example was when he was asked about wide receiver Denzel Mims, and he said, "he's in the room." Mims was cut shortly after that. Sometimes it's not about what he says, but about what he doesn't say. In this case, he said nothing about Hooker despite being asked about both Allen and Hooker, and didn't say anything until a follow-up was asked about Hooker.
It's possible to read too much into things at times. Nobody has ever accused me of never reading too much into things or jumping to a conclusion. But this felt not so great for Hooker to just go all in on how his counterpart and not mention him at all until asked again.
When Campbell did answer about Hooker, he talked about why the Lions pulled him early, and it was the turnovers, as you might have expected.
"Just turning the ball over. You know, that was a big because, like, Hooker made some good throws, man, before. He was doing a few things, but we got to get more work taking care of the ball. You know, you decide you're going to be a runner, you got to tuck it away, man, like any runner does, two hands on the ball in the pocket when you go to step up. So it's all the fundamentals that we talk about. So we just need more work at that, and he'll get to play."
There are three weeks and two preseason games left. We'll see what happens going forward. At this time, it would make sense that the Lions would start Allen against the Dolphins on Saturday. How much playing time Hooker gets in this game will tell us a lot. If it's very little, that pretty much tells you it's over. If Allen plays just a little bit at the start of the game and Hooker gets the majority of the rest of the game, that tells you Allen has the QB2 job, but the Lions are giving Hooker a shot to redeem himself.
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