Discover key insights into Ben Johnson, the Detroit Lions' offensive coordinator. From his strategic roles with the Miami Dolphins to his impact on the Lions' offensive performance and quarterback development, learn what makes Johnson a respected leader in the NFL.
The Detroit Lions are happy with the progress Hendon Hooker has made as their backup quarterback this season, but Lions coach Dan Campbell did not rule out the possibility of adding recently released New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones.
"We haven't really talked about that," Campbell said Tuesday. "The name's come up but it's not like we've sat down and talked so I don't want to give you a yes or a no."
The Giants benched Jones, their starter most of the past six seasons, last week then waived him days later at his request.
The No. 6 pick of the 2019 draft, Jones completed 64.1% of his passes in 70 games (69 starts) with the Giants. He signed a contract extension with the Giants last spring that included a $23 million injury guarantee for 2025.
Now a free agent, Jones is reportedly leaning towards signing as a backup with a playoff contender rather than with a team that will allow him to play immediately. ESPN reported the Baltimore Ravens and Minnesota Vikings are the two teams most likely to sign Jones, while CBS Sports named the Lions as one potential suitor.
Jared Goff has played MVP-caliber football for the Lions this season, completing 72.9% of his passes and averaging a league-best 9 yards per attempt while leading the team to a 10-1 record.
The Lions lead the NFL in scoring at 32.7 points per game and have been so dominant that Hooker has appeared in three games in mop-up duty this season, completing 6 of 9 passes for 62 yards.
"He's progressed," Campbell said. "We told him from Day 1, we just need growth. We need you to grow every week and we've given him opportunities in practice, good on good, to run our offense and as much as we can put him under pressure, we've done that.
"And I would say he's progressed. That's the best way to say it. Every guy grows at his own rate and he's growing."
While Jones would add more experience to the backup quarterback spot, he led the Giants to just one winning record as starter and had eight touchdowns and seven interceptions this season.
Asked Tuesday if he'd feel comfortable starting Hooker should Goff have to miss any period of time, Campbell said, "Listen, if the time comes, he's got to be ready to play. Period. It doesn't matter whether he's ready or not. He'll go in there and there's things that he does well and those are things that we would call that I think he'll have success with, and you go from there."