Following Derek Carr’s retirement, the Saints have identified Lions quarterback Hendon Hooker as a possible trade target.
The Detroit Lions face a quarterback contest heading into this preseason. After adding Kyle Allen in the offseason, he’ll battle former third-round pick Hendon Hooker for the role of Jared Goff’s backup. Given that the Lions coaxed Teddy Bridgewater out of retirement last year to replace Hooker during the playoffs, Allen is likely the favorite. However, Mike Payton of A to Z Sports believes there’s a scenario that could settle this competition sooner than expected.
Payton believes Hooker could be a trade target for the New Orleans Saints after Derek Carr announced that he would be retiring ahead of the 2025 NFL season.
The Saints’ quarterback room is in rough shape right now.
Right now, they have Tyler Shough, Spencer Rattler, and Jake Haener on their depth chart at the position.
Rattler started six games for the Saints last season while Carr was injured and he struggled. He completed just 57% of his passes last season while throwing just four touchdown passes and five interceptions.
Haener wasn’t any better. He completed just 46.2% of his passes while throwing one touchdown and one interception.
The Saints went 0-7 in games started by the two QBs.
Now they’ve added Shough in the second round of this year’s draft. He comes with some major question marks as he will turn 26 during his rookie season and injuries throughout his college career left his resume incomplete.
Hooker is unlikely to be the answer to the Saints’ problems, but it couldn’t hurt for them to take a chance on adding another option to their QB room.
For the Lions, this would get a bit of money off of their books while also recouping some draft capital.
The Lions have traded away a lot of their 2026 draft capital. They gave up a pair of third rounders in next year’s draft to move up and select Isaac TeSlaa this year. They also dealt their sixth rounder in the deal that got them Za’Darius Smith.
Payton believes this trade could bring a sixth rounder back to the Lions.
That should be enough for them to move on from a QB they don’t seem to be sold on for the second slot on their depth chart.
The decision to draft Hooker is one the just hasn’t seemed to work out the way the Lions hoped and if they get an offer like this for him, they should probably go ahead and get the deal done.
