Detroit — The Detroit Lions will have a tough decision to make on third-string quarterback Hendon Hooker when compiling their 53-man roster early next week.
Hooker turned in another poor performance while playing the final three quarters of Detroit’s preseason finale, finishing 6-for-11 passing for 70 yards, no touchdowns and an interception in a 26-7 loss to the Houston Texans at Ford Field on Saturday.
Hooker entered the game on the third drive, after backup quarterback Kyle Allen started 5-for-5 for 66 yards, including a 33-yard touchdown pass to rookie receiver Isaac TeSlaa. Hooker completed his first pass — a 14-yard checkdown to running back Jacob Saylors — and didn’t complete another pass until 6:44 remained in the third quarter on another checkdown to Saylors.
As the Lions head into roster cutdown day (Tuesday at 4 p.m.), head coach Dan Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes could decide that Hooker’s tenure in Detroit is over.
“Look, I wish Hooker — and I know he does — would have had a little bit better outing,” Campbell said. “But it’s also, you’ve got to take it with a grain of salt. It’s not like he was playing with our first O-line out there, or first-team skill position, all of that. So, you take that into account as well. I thought he was prepared, I thought he was ready. He looked pretty calm and it just — circumstances didn’t work out for that, that’s all.”
Campbell gave some insight on Saturday as to what they’re weighing with the roster decision on Hooker.
“How much development do you believe there still is? Sometimes, does the player need a change of scenery? What about your own depth in other areas?” Campbell said. “I mentioned this the other day, relative to that, maybe there is room to grow — OK, well is it worth it for the depth that we need at O-line, D-line, receiver, DB, and so, those are all of the things you’ve got to weigh.”
Hooker finally got in a minor groove near the end of the game, completing a pair of 18-yard passes to wide receiver Ronnie Bell and running back Deon Jackson. He finished that drive with four completions, the latter two being a screen and a checkdown. He was sacked on fourth down while trying to escape the pocket.
Over four preseason appearances, Hooker went 22-for-40 passing for 187 yards, three interceptions and two fumbles. Not only did he not throw a passing touchdown all preseason, the Lions did not score a touchdown of any kind with him at quarterback over four games.
Hooker said that he believed he showed improvement each game. Even if that’s true, it certainly didn’t translate in a way that uplifted the rest of the offense.
“That second game (against Atlanta) was probably the worst ball-handling I had in my career, which isn’t me. I felt like I capitalized on the things that I needed to work on game after game, and every day at practice, I showed up,” Hooker said.
The frustrating part for Hooker was that he was, for the most part, a completely different player in practice than he was in the games — at least early on. He had an excellent start to training camp, but following a lackluster performance in the Hall of Fame Game, he never bounced back, ceding the No. 2 job to Allen the rest of the way.
“Of course you feel a way, seeing that that’s not my regular character, no matter where we are,” Hooker said about his practice performance not translating to the games. “There’s no turnovers in practice. So just trying to make those plays or trying to fit things in tight windows, trying to force the ball, it’s a letdown, especially knowing what I can do.”
Hooker’s ineffectiveness in Saturday’s game was to the detriment of a couple receivers who are on the bubble entering cutdown day. Neither Jackson Meeks nor Dominic Lovett, both of who are sitting firmly on the fence, ended up with a reception.
Frankly, that was a theme up and down the roster. Outside of linebacker Trevor Nowaske and safety Loren Strickland, very few bubble players did anything to improve their standing on the roster.
“If (someone did), it would have to be somebody who’s doing dirty work,” Campbell said. “I don’t feel like anything else really was very glaring in a positive manner if you will.”
Houston took a 3-0 lead with 7:12 left in the first quarter. Lions defensive tackle Myles Adams came up with a critical stop on third-and-1, and Ka’imi Fairbairn put home a 53-yard field goal after the Texans took a false-start penalty before fourth down.
The Lions took their first and only lead of the game on TeSlaa’s third touchdown of the preseason. After TeSlaa moved the chains by crossing up a Texans defensive back on a slant route, he ran a go down the sideline and Allen put it right in the bread basket for a 33-yard connection to put Detroit up, 7-3, with 1:52 left in the first quarter.
“I thought Kyle did a good job again. This is three games in a row, and practice, you can’t ever forget about these practices,” Campbell said. “Look, you got some errors in that Chargers game to start the season out, and really from there he’s just gotten better and better and better. Today was just evidence again of him really stepping up. I thought he did a good job.”
The Texans regained the lead on running back Woody Marks’ score with 12:22 left in the second quarter. Lions lineman Keith Cooper Jr. got penetration but couldn’t get hands on the ball carrier, as Marks ran right by Cooper and edge defender Nate Lynn on his way to a 9-yard touchdown.
Ex-Lions receiver Quintez Cephus added to the Texans’ lead. He hauled in a fade route over Lions cornerback D.J. Miller Jr. for a 6-yard touchdown reception. Fairbairn whiffed on the ensuing point-after attempt, resulting in a 16-7 Texans lead with 4:46 remaining in the second quarter. Cephus had four catches for 51 yards.
Lions cornerback Tyson Russell came up with the team’s first pass defense of the day with 14:53 left in the fourth quarter. As Cephus struggled to haul in a throw with his helmet, Russell was in the right place at the right time to steal the ball off the bobble.
But Hooker gave it right back on the next play from scrimmage, overshooting Lovett on a ball that landed right in the hands of Texans defensive back Jalen Mills.
The Texans took a commanding 23-7 lead with 12:58 to go. After Cooper and Anthony Pittman teamed up for a 2-yard loss near the goal line, Texans receiver Daniel Jackson got lost in a sea of bodies and ended up wide open for a 3-yard touchdown reception.
Houston added a 48-yard field goal to make it 26-7 with 6:35 left in the game.
Starting lineup
▶ Offensive starters: QB Kyle Allen, RB Craig Reynolds, WRs Isaac TeSlaa and Tom Kennedy, TE Zach Horton, LT Giovanni Manu, LG Netane Muti, C Kingsley Eguakun, RG Kayode Awosika, RT Dan Skipper
▶ Defensive starters: DL Pat O’Connor, Chris Smith, Myles Adams, Al-Quadin Muhammad; LBs Trevor Nowaske, Zach Cunningham and Grant Stuard; CBs Nick Whiteside and Allan George; S Rock Ya-Sin and Erick Hallett II
More observations
▶ At least three reserve players who would otherwise be expected to play were absent from the contest: Running back Sione Vaki, cornerback Luq Barcoo and offensive tackle Jamarco Jones. Vaki and Jones both suffered undisclosed injuries during Detroit’s joint practice against the Texans on Thursday.
▶ Eguakun, a bubble player who’s fighting for the reserve center job, started the game. He was knocked back on third down during Detroit’s opening possession, leading to a sack of Allen, but was relatively solid the rest of the way on first watch.
▶ Hooker’s biggest gain of the preseason, a 30-yard completion to receiver Bell in the third quarter, was called back for a holding penalty on offensive guard Zack Johnson. With Hooker turning in another poor performance over three full quarters, the wide receiver production struggled, too.
▶ Still, the Lions made a significant improvement in their discipline. Detroit was called for just five accepted penalties (47 yards) after being called for 13 penalties the week prior.
▶ Stuard reprised his role as the team’s kick returner to start the game and returned the opening kickoff 44 yards to Detroit’s 45-yard line. He was replaced by Lovett after the opening kick.
▶ The final impression from cornerback Nick Whiteside, one of the darlings of training camp, was underwhelming. He was the nearest defender on at least four big chunk plays and was later flagged for defensive holding on third-and-11 on the Texans’ final drive of the second quarter.
▶ With plenty of jobs available on the defensive line, the Lions’ pass rush was relatively nonexistent outside of a two-play sequence near the end of the first half. Lynn registered a quarterback hit on a play that was ultimately called back for offensive pass interference. On the very next play, Muhammad sacked Texans quarterback Graham Mertz to end the half.
▶ Strickland, who made the team as an undrafted rookie last season, was all over the place in the second half. He finished with a team-high nine tackles, including one for loss. Nowaske also had nine tackles.
▶ With Vaki out of the lineup, none of the Lions’ running backs ran the ball particularly well. Reynolds had five rushes for 12 yards, Saylors had nine for 32 yards, and Jackson had two for 3 yards.
▶ In addition to his tackle-for-loss near the goal line, Pittman came up with another tackle-for-loss in the fourth quarter, stopping Texans running back British Brooks for a loss of 3 yards.
nbianchi@detroitnews.com
@nolanbianchi
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