Should New York Giants trade for Detroit Lions QB Hendon Hooker?

The New York Giants failed to land their quarterback of choice this spring — North Carolina’s Drake Maye — and will continue on with Daniel Jones as their primary signal caller.

Does that mean the Giants are done looking for their quarterback of the future? For now, maybe. Jones is under contract for three more seasons and the team has brought in Drew Lock on a one-year deal. The long-term view is still very cloudy.

There is another avenue other than the draft and free agency to acquire players. That would be through a trade. The Giants could very well scour the league rosters for a player that they feel can become a franchise quarterback.

One possibility is Hendon Hooker, a 26-year-old who is only in his second season with the Detroit Lions. Hooker was once thought to be a possible take-out for starter Jared Goff but that became very unlikely when the Lions inked Goff to a four-year, $212 million deal last week.

Justin Melo of The Draft Network identified the Giants as one of the three teams (the Los Angeles Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers being the others) who could/should make a play for Hooker.

The Giants passed on opportunities to draft J.J. McCarthy, Bo Nix, or Michael Penix Jr. in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft despite facing questions over Daniel Jones’ future. Jones’ 2023 season failed to meet expectations after he signed a four-year, $160 million extension last offseason.

Jones has no guaranteed money remaining on his contract following the conclusion of this season, but an injury guarantee would be triggered for 2025 if Jones gets hurt and can’t pass a physical. We’ve seen similar situations lead to benchings around the league (Russell Wilson in Denver, Derek Carr in Vegas). It’s precisely why the Giants added Drew Lock earlier this offseason. Hooker could give the Giants an alternative option with a higher ceiling.

Now comes the question of how much the Lions would ask in return for the former Tennessee star. We know the Giants had “genuine interest” in Hooker in last year’s draft but were aced out by the Lions in the third round.

They can rekindle that interest this summer as teams struggle to get under the salary cap.