There is some good news on the health of one of Detroit’s 2023 third-round picks.
Via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, quarterback Hendon Hooker progressed to throwing routes on air following Tuesday’s minicamp practice.
Hooker, who’s recovering from reconstructive knee surgery, took some short drops and threw some passes to a couple of his young teammates.
Hooker told Birkett after the session that it “felt pretty good to get back out here moving.”
“All day it was on my mind,” Hooker said. “I’m thinking like, ‘I wonder how I’ll throw it today.’ But I felt pretty good. Missed one ball to end it out, but it felt good. I felt I put the ball where I wanted to. As soon as my feet can match my thought process then [it will be even better]. Really, they’re just not moving as fast [as] I want them to.”
While head coach Dan Campbell has said that Hooker’s 2023 is likely to be a redshirt year coming off his knee injury, the quarterback seems to feel good about the progress he’s made in his rehab. But he’s still not sure if he’ll participate in training camp, noting that would be a “very fast” timeline.
“When I get back to feeling like the player that I am, doing the things that I know I can do, then I’ll be ready to rock and roll,” Hooker said. “I’m only five months out so the stuff I’m doing is way ahead of schedule.”