As the Detroit Lions head into the 2023 NFL season, they have a bonafide starting quarterback in Jared Goff, but it sounds like the team is happy about the three guys behind him, too.
This week, offensive coordinator Ben Johnson addressed the team’s quarterback situation, praising quarterbacks Nate Sudfeld, Hendon Hooker, and Adrian Martinez.
“I love the [QBs] room right now,” Johnson said according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “There’s a great camaraderie in there and I think that’s really important when you define that backup quarterback position. It’s not only a guy that can go in and win games, but for the majority of the season, if all things go right, he’s there to support that starter and we have that. We have that right now, not only with Nate and Hendon and Adrian.”
Sudfeld and Martinez are expected to be the team’s No. 2 and No. 3 quarterbacks this season while Hooker is expected to sit the majority of the season and learn the offense as he continues to rehab from an ACL injury. But Johnson sounds optimistic about the future of the position.
“We’ve got a really good group,” Johnson said. “They’re learning, they’re growing. And once again, we’re evaluating consistently, we’re putting pressure on them consistently to see what they can do out on the field in team settings.
“The truth really comes out, I believe, when you have the bullets flying for real, which we can’t have right now,” Johnson added. “So, the training camp will tell us a lot about where we’re at behind Jared, but so far, feel really good about that room.”
