<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Detroit Lions\u00a0have a new backup quarterback. Or at least, the makings of an intriguing battle for the position.<\/p>\n
The Lions agreed to a free agent contract Thursday with veteran quarterback Kyle Allen, his agent announced.<\/p>\n
![\"Image\"](\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/Gl9zBnHbgAAnbQu?format=jpg&name=medium\")
Allen, 29, has played seven NFL seasons for five different teams and spent last year with the\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers.<\/p>\n
He went 5-7 as starter for the\u00a0Carolina Panthers\u00a0in 2019 and has started six games over the past five seasons for Washington (in 2020) and the\u00a0Houston Texans\u00a0(in 2022). Last year, he appeared in one game and completed his only pass for 19 yards.<\/p>\n
Jared Goff is entrenched as the Lions starting quarterback and coming off one of the best seasons of his career. For a backup, the team took Hendon Hooker in the third round of the 2023 draft.<\/p>\n
Hooker did not play as a rookie while rehabbing a college knee injury. He completed 6 of 9 passes in three games of mop-up duty last year, but the Lions signed veteran Teddy Bridgewater\u00a0as veteran quarterback insurance\u00a0before the playoffs.<\/p>\n
![\"Dec](\"https:\/\/www.freep.com\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2025\/03\/14\/PDTF\/82387328007-usatsi-25041261.jpg?width=660&height=440&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp\")
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When Goff briefly left the Lions’ divisional round playoff loss to the\u00a0Washington Commanders, Bridgewater came on the field for four snaps. He completed one pass for 3 yards to Jahmyr Gibbs, and the Lions scored on his final play on a 61-yard reverse by Jameson Williams.<\/p>\n
“Doesn\u2019t mean we\u2019re disappointed in Hooker,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said in December about Bridgewater’s return. “That\u2019s not what this means, it just means this gives us somebody that\u2019s played a lot in the NFL, we\u2019re getting ready for the playoffs. And so, it\u2019ll be good to get him back in the fold with us.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Detroit](\"https:\/\/www.freep.com\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2024\/08\/11\/PDTF\/74760179007-usatsi-23951768.jpg?width=660&height=440&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp\")
<\/p>\n
Bridgewater\u00a0retired after the 2023 season\u00a0to coach high school football at his high school alma matter, Miami Northwestern. He planned to return to coaching this fall.<\/p>\n
The Lions now have four quarterbacks on the 90-man roster \u2212 Goff, Allen, Hooker and Jake Fromm, who spent most of last season on practice squad. Last year, they kept two quarterbacks on their 53-man roster for most of the season, until adding Bridgewater late in the year.<\/p>\n
Allen, who went undrafted out of Houston in 2018, is the first free agent the Lions have signed from another team on the offensive side of the ball this spring.<\/p>\n
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