Steelers Now
Ahead of their road matchup with the Detroit Lions, the Pittsburgh Steelers took a close look at someone familiar with Dan Campbell’s team. Mike Tomlin’s crew had quarterback Hendon Hooker in for a tryout on Tuesday.
The Lions chose Hooker, 27, in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft. He was still recovering from a torn ACL when he was selected, signaling that the choice was made with the future in mind.
Hooker spent the first two seasons of his career as a backup for Jared Goff, appearing in just three games. Former Steelers passer Kyle Allen beat Hooker out to be Goff’s understudy during this past preseason.
“How much development do you believe there still is? Sometimes does the player need a change of scenery? What about our own depth in other areas?” Campbell said of Hooker after the Lions’ preseason finale. “I mentioned this the other day, relative to that — all right, maybe there is room to grow. Is that worth it for the depth we need at O-Line, D-Line, receiver, DB? And so those are all things you have to weigh.”
Hooker had a stay with the Carolina Panthers’ practice squad, but was released last month.
Hooker played four years of his college ball at Virginia Tech before transferring to Tennessee. Over 24 games with Josh Heupel’s Volunteers, Hooker passed for 6,080 yards, 58 touchdowns and five interceptions. He led the SEC in completion percentage in 2022 and was in the running for the Heisman Trophy before suffering his knee injury.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Competitive Advantage? Steelers Work Out Former Lions QB
