The Detroit Lions have their franchise quarterback for the foreseeable future in Jared Goff, but when it comes to quarterback depth, things get a bit cloudy. Right now, the team has Hendon Hooker and Kyle Allen as backups to Goff, but if something were to go wrong, let’s just say there’s no real confidence that either Hooker or Allen could take the Lions to the postseason. Not that they couldn’t deliver, but it’s a question mark.
Now, one new backup quarterback option has emerged, but it might not be the best option for the Lions.
A Possible Backup Quarterback for the Detroit Lions
In a June 2 piece for CBS Sports, analyst and expert Cody Benjamin names some possible post-June 1 trade or cut candidates, and one of them is Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis. There’s no denying that Levis is available for a trade, if anyone is interested. One could say he’s nearly single and ready to mingle in the NFL world.
Benjamin names the Lions as a possible fit for Levis, explaining, “The Tennessee Titans aren’t rushing to move on from the former second-round pick, at least publicly, but ever since the club’s new regime spent this year’s No. 1 overall pick on Cam Ward, the writing has been on the wall.”
He added in the feature, “Could coach Brian Callahan retain the big-armed youngster as Ward’s backup? Perhaps. But the Titans could save $1.6 million by trading Levis after June 1, whereas a trade or release prior to June 1 would’ve only saved the franchise about $600,000.”
Throwing Some Cold Water on the Idea of Levis to the Lions
NFL reporter and expert Brad Berreman of SideLion Report does not like the idea of Levis coming to the Lions, and he makes that clear in a June 2 feature about the proposal.
“Dan Campbell would find new variations of swear words if Levis became the Lions’ No. 2 quarterback and was forced to play meaningful snaps,” Berreman stated in the piece. Wow. “It’s fair to assume that level of aggravation will not be invited.”
Berreman added, “It says it all about Levis that the status quo battle between Hooker and Allen feels more solid to produce a suitable backup to Goff. But that’s where we are, and where the Lions should be regarding the idea of trading for a quarterback the Titans would love to offload to someone.”
Lions general manager Brad Holmes talked about the competition for backup quarterback back in April.
“I mean, look, it’s just competition,” he said per Tim Twentyman of the Lions’ website. “That’s all it is. I mean, look, we like Hendon, excited about him. I’ve always said about Hendon, you know, kind of a lot of steps on his journey coming out of high school and, you know, at Virginia Tech or Tennessee, like, it wasn’t immediately he was the guy.”
Holmes added, “He had the injury that first year, then last year, that was the first year that he kind of was able to do a full year of training camp and during the season. And then we brought Teddy Bridgewater in just because we were gearing up for the playoffs and postseason and he just wasn’t ready yet, you know? And he understood that.”
