No one wants to play four preseason games, but for Detroit Lions quarterbacks coach Mark Brunell, there’s a silver lining to his team’s extra exhibition affair.

“For the quarterback position, I mean, I love it,” Brunell said May 13. “I love it that Hendon and Kyle will be getting more reps, more game time, and so it allows you to evaluate more. It allows those guys to have more opportunities to move the team.”

The Lions signed veteran Kyle Allen to compete with Hendon Hooker for the backup quarterback job behind Jared Goff in training camp, and with Goff expected to have a workload “probably very similar to what” he has had in previous years, Brunell said, that will leave the bulk of the preseason game reps to Allen and Hooker.

Goff has not taken a snap in a preseason game since 2022, with the Lions preferring he get his reps in joint workouts and practices. Lions coach Dan Campbell said he hopes to have two sets of joint practices again this summer.

The Lions open the preseason July 31 against the Los Angeles Chargers in the Hall of Fame game. They play a road game Aug. 8 against the Atlanta Falcons, then host the Miami Dolphins and Houston Texans to close the preseason.

Hooker, a third-round pick in 2023 who missed his first training camp with the Lions while recovering from a college knee injury, saw his first NFL action last season when he completed 6 of 9 passes for 62 yards in three games.

After using Hooker as Goff’s backup most of the year, the Lions signed Teddy Bridgewater late in the season as veteran quarterback insurance and made him their No. 2 quarterback in the playoffs. The team added Allen as competition this offseason.

“He's a puppy and he's still young,” Brunell said of Hooker, 27. “And does he have a lot (to grow)? Yeah. Yeah, there's some things that we got to work on, but what other — that's the same case for every other young guy that's going into his third season. There's a lot of things to work on.”

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kyle Allen throws before the game against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium, Dec. 21, 2024.

Allen, 29 and entering his eighth NFL season, has attempted just one pass the past two seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills but is 7-12 in his career as a starter.

“What we saw in Kyle was a quarterback, to your point, who has experience, he has played, he's been on multiple teams, different systems, very smart,” Brunell said. “What I loved about the tape that we saw, he made good decisions with the ball. He managed very well. You could tell he was operating within whatever offense that he was in, and just has a good grasp on how to play at this level and has for a while.”

Brunell said how Allen and Hooker fare this summer will go a long way toward determining the backup.

He said he wants his No. 2 quarterback to be fundamentally sound and to be able to move the offense and make good decisions in games and practices. He has already seen Hooker improve in some of those areas.

“He's throwing the ball better, his footwork is better, and he understands our concepts (better),” Brunell said. “And so this has been really good for him. And as we go, the kid, because of his focus and his attitude and his work ethic, he's naturally just going to become a better quarterback. And when he gets out there in preseason, I imagine he's going to get a lot of reps. You'll see a better version of him than you did last year, and I'm excited about that. I'm really pleased with Hendon.”

Dave Birkett is the author of the book, "Detroit Lions: An Illustrated Timeline." Order your copy here. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lions' Hendon Hooker 'a puppy,' already showing improvement in battle for backup QB job