If you’re on Malik Hooker watch, circle mid-July on your calendars. It doesn’t sound like he’ll make a decision on his next team until then. Joining Sirius XM Radio Friday afternoon, Hooker outlined his thought process in choosing his next destination.
“Yeah,” he said when asked if he planned on waiting a couple weeks to sign with a team.
But Hooker said health isn’t the reason why he’s waiting.
“From a health standpoint, I’m feeling pretty good right now,” he told the show. “Obviously I’ve been doing field work and stuff like that. For me, it’s just back to getting to feeling like myself a hundred percent. It’s just about the last little tune-up for the little things, you know? Because I’m capable of going out there and playing right now, but it’s just stuff that I can tell with myself, little stuff that makes me that player that I was before that I need to get back.”
Hooker suffered a torn Achilles in the Colts’ Week 2 win over the Minnesota Vikings, immediately ending his season. Achilles injuries may be the toughest injury for players to come back from, even for someone young like Hooker, just turning 25 years old. He’s had a long list of injuries that have limited to 35 games over four seasons in Indy. Hooker is yet to play a full 16-game season in the league.
He’s made several visits this offseason, including a meeting with the Steelers one week ago. He left without a contract, typically a bad sign for his chances of sticking in Pittsburgh, but his health situation could be a reason why both sides are waiting. Hooker made it clear he’s not in a rush to put pen to paper.
“Knowing I want to take my time and wait until the end of July when training camp starts, so be it. I’m about taking it one day at a time.”
Pittsburgh has been searching for secondary help since the draft. They brought in Karl Joseph who left and returned to the Las Vegas Raiders. Pittsburgh signed Arthur Maulet, a slot corner/free safety who spent the past two seasons with the New York Jets. And they’ve brought in Hooker to visit. Clearly, they’re looking to upgrade their depth behind Minkah Fitzpatrick and Terrell Edmunds.
Signing Hooker would be a quintessential Colbert-signing. He brings pedigree, a former 15th overall pick from Ohio State, and he’s a local product from New Castle, PA (though he’s currently living in Atlanta). The odds of him signing in Pittsburgh might not be high but they’re also far from zero. Within six weeks, we should get our answer.
