One of the smaller surprises of the Detroit Lions’ 53-man roster and 16-man practice squad was the lack of a third quarterback. Behind Jared Goff and Kyle Allen is nobody, after 2023 third-round pick Hendon Hooker failed to the make the roster and signed to the Panthers’ practice squad. Detroit has kept three quarterbacks every year under general manager Brad Holmes, and the team has expressed their belief in the importance of a third quarterback by even submitting a rule making it easier for teams
to access an emergency quarterback in a game-day situation.
Holmes joined team reporter Dannie Rogers last week, and said that the team is, indeed, on the hunt for a third quarterback after initial efforts were squashed.
“I thought we had another plan in place that didn’t (happen), (it) fell through. So that’s why you’ve got to just keep things close to the vest, because you never know until it happens,” Holmes sadi. “But we’re still working through that actively. It could happen today, it could happen tomorrow. We will add another quarterback.”
On Monday, coach Dan Campbell expanded on those thoughts, offering more details on the quarterbacks they’ll be looking for.
“We’re looking for somebody, that if we need them, we know they can run the show,” Campbell said. “They can run the offense, they can process the information—more than, can we find a guy to develop that’s unknown, all of those. I’d rather have a guy, somebody that certainly if we’re familiar with or somebody you just know they get in the game, they’re going to get you in the right play, be smart with the football, and all of those things.”
With a clear preference towards veteran quarterbacks capable of running an NFL offense over a developmental type, here are some free agent options that fit that prototype: former Lions Nate Sudfeld and Tim Boyle, or non-former Lions like John Wolford (Goff’s former teammate), Taylor Heinicke, or Mike White.
