Lions' Hendon Hooker, Kyle Allen looking for better results in backup QB competition

ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) — Hendon Hooker provided a blunt assessment of his first preseason performance.

“A zero out of 10,” the Detroit Lions quarterback said. “It wasn't to my standards, it wasn't to the team's standards of just being productive and controlling the huddle and making plays.”

Hooker and Kyle Allen, who are competing for the No. 2 spot on the depth chart behind starting quarterback Jared Goff, are both looking for vast improvement in the offense's performance when the Lions play at Atlanta on Friday.

Detroit committed five turnovers and generated just 197 yards in a 34-7 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in the Hall of Fame game on Thursday. Allen, who started the game, was 9 of 14 for 91 yards but was intercepted twice. Hooker was 3 of 6 for 18 yards and was picked off once.

They'll switch roles on Friday with Hooker playing the first half and Allen taking over after halftime.

Durability hasn't been an issue for Goff since he was acquired from the Los Angeles Rams in 2021. He hasn't missed a game the past three seasons.

If that streak ends this season, the Lions will need to have a reliable option. They're looking for either Hooker or Allen to establish themselves as the clear backup.

“I can tell you both of those guys are, it goes without saying, they're frustrated with the way that went and they both want to improve and get better,” coach Dan Campbell said. “And they will.”

Hooker was selected in the third round of the 2023 draft despite a knee injury suffered late in his college career that turned his rookie season essentially into a redshirt year.

Hooker had 58 touchdown passes and five interceptions in two seasons at Tennessee. The 27-year-old Hendon also spent three seasons with Virginia Tech.

Hooker made three brief appearances last season, going 6 of 9 for 62 yards. This preseason is pivotal to show he was worthy of his draft status.

“Very key. Every play is important,” he said. “So just taking advantage of every play, every throw, every decision and just putting my best foot forward every time.”

Allen, 29, has bounced around the league since making Carolina's roster as an undrafted free agent in 2018. The Lions are the sixth organization he's suited up for and fifth in the past five seasons. He appeared in one game with Pittsburgh last season.

Allen has made 19 starts, including 12 of 13 appearances during the 2019 season with the Panthers when he passed for 3,322 yards with 17 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. He was sacked 46 times.

The Lions signed him to a one-year, $1.27 million contract with a $100,000 signing bonus in March. The second half against the Falcons gives Allen another extended opportunity to secure his spot on the depth chart.

“Obviously (looking to) correct the interceptions and the mistakes, play a little cleaner football,” he said after Sunday morning's practice. “Just keep executing the offense, getting more comfortable in it and take it play by play.”

Hendon has similar goals on Friday.

“We've just got to come out and execute,” he said. “Point back, period. No excuses and leave it at that.”

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Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff runs drills during NFL football training camp Sunday, Aug. 3, 2025, in Allen Park, Mich. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Detroit Lions quarterback Hendon Hooker (2) is sacked by Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Caleb Murphy (50), TeRah Edwards (94) and safety Emany Johnson, right, in the second half of the Pro Football Hall of Fame NFL preseason game Thursday, July 31, 2025, in Canton, Ohio. (AP Photo/David Richard)

Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Tre'Mon Morris-Brash, left, sacksDetroit Lions quarterback Hendon Hooker, right, in the second half of the Pro Football Hall of Fame NFL preseason game Thursday, July 31, 2025, in Canton, Ohio. (AP Photo/David Richard)

Detroit Lions quarterbacks Jared Goff, right, and Hendon Hooker run drills during NFL football training camp Sunday, Aug. 3, 2025, in Allen Park, Mich. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Detroit Lions quarterbacks Jared Goff, left, and Hendon Hooker run drills during NFL football training camp Sunday, Aug. 3, 2025, in Allen Park, Mich. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union's executive on Wednesday warned that it would take action against any “unjustified measures” after the U.S. State Department barred five Europeans it accuses of pressuring U.S. technology firms to censor or suppress American viewpoints.

The Europeans were characterized by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio as “radical” activists and “weaponized” nongovernmental organizations. They include the former EU commissioner responsible for supervising social media rules, Thierry Breton.

Breton, a businessman and former French finance minister, clashed last year on social media with tech billionaire Elon Musk over broadcasting an online interview with Donald Trump in the months leading up to the U.S. election.

The European Commission, the EU’s powerful executive branch and which supervises tech regulation in Europe, said that it “strongly condemns the U.S. decision to impose travel restrictions” and that it has requested clarification about the move. French President Emmanuel Macron also condemned it.

“If needed, we will respond swiftly and decisively to defend our regulatory autonomy against unjustified measures,” the commission said in a statement, without elaborating.

Rubio wrote in an X post on Tuesday that “for far too long, ideologues in Europe have led organized efforts to coerce American platforms to punish American viewpoints they oppose.”

“The Trump Administration will no longer tolerate these egregious acts of extraterritorial censorship,” he posted.

The European Commission countered that “the EU is an open, rules-based single market, with the sovereign right to regulate economic activity in line with our democratic values and international commitments.”

“Our digital rules ensure a safe, fair, and level playing field for all companies, applied fairly and without discrimination,” it said.

Macron said that the visa restrictions “amount to intimidation and coercion aimed at undermining European digital sovereignty,” he posted on X.

Macron said that the EU’s digital rules were adopted by “a democratic and sovereign process” involving all member countries and the European Parliament. He said that the rules “ensure fair competition among platforms, without targeting any third country.”

He underlined that “the rules governing the European Union’s digital space are not meant to be determined outside Europe.”

Breton and the group of Europeans fell afoul of a new visa policy announced in May to restrict the entry of foreigners deemed responsible for censorship of protected speech in the United States.

The four others are: Imran Ahmed, chief executive of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate; Josephine Ballon and Anna-Lena von Hodenberg, leaders of HateAid, a German organization; and Clare Melford, who runs the Global Disinformation Index.

Rubio said the five had advanced foreign government censorship campaigns against Americans and U.S. companies, which he said created “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences” for the United States.

The action to bar them from the U.S. is part of a Trump administration campaign against foreign influence over online speech, using immigration law rather than platform regulations or penalties.

In a post on X on Tuesday, Sarah Rogers, the U.S. under secretary of state for public diplomacy, called Breton the “mastermind” behind the EU’s Digital Services Act, which imposes a set of strict requirements designed to keep internet users safe online. This includes flagging harmful or illegal content like hate speech.

Breton responded on X by noting that all 27 EU member countries voted for the Digital Services Act in 2022. “To our American friends: ‘Censorship isn’t where you think it is,’” he wrote.

Angela Charlton contributed to this report from Paris.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a news conference at the State Department, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)