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Detail in Lions QB Jared Goff's contract makes Hendon Hooker's situation in Detroit even more unfortunate

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Zach Ragan | Last updated 5/16/24

A detail in Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff's recently announced contract extension makes former Tennessee Vols quarterback Hendon Hooker's situation in Detroit even more unfortunate than we realized.

Hooker, who is already 26, is now buried behind Goff on Detroit's depth chart for the foreseeable future.

Goff's new contract keeps him in Detroit through the 2028 season. Hooker, meanwhile, still has three years remaining on his rookie contract, which means he'll be a free agent after the 2026 season.

If Goff stays healthy, which he has for most of his NFL career (he hasn't started fewer than 14 games in a season since his rookie year in 2016), then Hooker likely won't get a chance to prove himself as an NFL quarterback before hitting free agency (which means less guaranteed money for Hooker).

To make matters worse for Hooker, there's no real way for the Lions to move on from Goff in the event that doesn't live up to his new contract.

Goff confirmed on Thursday that he has a no trade clause in his new deal with the Lions.

Jared Goff has a “no-trade clause” in his contract with the Detroit Lions

He mentioned it wasn’t the numbers of the contract he was concerned about but more so the “security” of the contract#OnePride pic.twitter.com/GyPkKnjXH6
— Crunch Time with Jeff Iafrate & Booner (@officialctpod) May 16, 2024

The Lions are essentially married to Goff for the next five seasons. The only way they can move on from the former first round draft pick is to release him, which isn't really feasible until after the 2027 season because of the dead cap hit that Detroit would incur.

Hooker's best chance for proving himself is to have a couple of standout preseason games and hope that a quarterback-needy team approaches the Lions about a potential trade.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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