The Detroit Lions have seen a changing of the guard at the backup quarterback spot during the preseason after second-year signal-caller Hendon Hooker has outplayed veteran Nate Sudfeld after it was the other way around during the offseason.
Hooker completed 12-of-15 passes for 150 yards and added a rushing touchdown in what was a successful second exhibition game. Meanwhile, Sudfeld struggled once again, although he was better than his preseason Week 1 showing.
With the backup battle heating up and Hooker seemingly taking control, the Lions are contemplating starting Hooker in preseason Week 3 and having Sudfeld come in after him. It has been the other way around over the first two preseason games.
Head coach Dan Campbell said on Tuesday that the team would "love to start him this week," but wouldn't say definitively if that will be the case.
"Man, there was some real good things in that game, and there were some real bad things, which doesn’t surprise me with where he’s at," Campbell said, per Sports Illustrated's John Maakaron. "Certainly, we want to get him a real good look. We’d love to give him a lot of reps this week. I think the idea would be, you’d love to start him this week, I’d like to start him. And then it’s just a matter of how much does he play. Is it a couple series and then Nate goes in and then he’s back? Or is it a quarter or a half? But, he’s gonna get a really good look. He’s gonna get a lot of reps this week, because he needs them.”
Starting Hooker would be the right approach. Getting him into the game earlier would mean he's playing against the best the Pittsburgh Steelers have to offer, which would create a bigger challenge and tell us more about the Tennessee product.
It remains unclear if the Steelers will play their starters, but at least Hooker could get a look at the second team rather than facing a bunch of third- and fourth-stringers later in the game.
Hooker may have already wrapped up the competition with Sudfeld, but he can completely solidify his status with another strong showing on Saturday.