The Detroit Lions have a competition for the backup quarterback spot behind Jared Goff in training camp between veteran Nate Sudfeld and second-year signal-caller Hendon Hooker.
On Day 1 of training camp on Wednesday, Hooker received all of the second-team reps over Sudfeld, who worked with the third-team unit, according to Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com.
However, Twentyman cautioned not to count Sudfeld out just yet.
The team is going to give Hooker every opportunity to win the backup job at quarterback behind Goff. They drafted him in the third round last offseason, and he took all the second-team reps Wednesday. But don't count out Sudfeld from making it a closer competition than people might think. Sudfeld ran a smooth third-team offense Wednesday, which isn't always easy to do. That will be a fun competition to watch.
Based on the observations of Erik Schlitt of Pride of Detroit, Hooker got off to a rocky start but rebounded and had a "very nice day" overall.
Hooker started his day off with a lot of accuracy issues, but he settled the ship quickly and ended up having a very nice day. In addition to his throw to Fountain, he routinely made nice crisp throws, taking all the second-team reps. Nate Sudfeld continues to look like the more consistent backup quarterback, but he is still with the third team and doesn’t look to be moving up anytime soon.
Seeing as how they spent a third-round pick on him, the Lions no doubt want Hooker to win this competition over Sudfeld.
Not to mention, Hooker has far more upside than Sudfeld if he can develop, which would give Detroit a better option to keep the ship afloat should Goff get hurt for any period of time.
The Lions will be back on the practice field on Thursday. You can check out all of the biggest takeaways from Day 1 right here.
