The Detroit Lions’ brass of head coach Dan Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes have made it clear that Jared Goff very much figures into the future.
Goff, 28, is coming off a breakout second season with Detroit after being acquired from the Los Angeles Rams in the Matthew Stafford blockbuster ahead of the 2021 season. The former No. 1 pick is slated to become a free agent after the 2024 campaign and could be extended ahead of Week 1 against the Kansas City Chiefs.
In talking about his quarterback, Holmes provided somewhat of an update. Negotiations are ongoing between Goff and the organization.
“We’ve kept open dialogue with their agents in camp and I think the transparency has been good, so we’ll see how it goes,” Holmes told reporters on Friday.
Goff is playing under a four-year, $134 million contract he signed with the Rams back in September of 2019. That came after he led Los Angeles to a Super Bowl appearance the previous season. After struggling through two more years in Southern California, Goff was acquired by Detroit. He was great in leading the team to a surprising 9-8 record in 2022.
Jared Goff stats (2022): 66.1% completion, 4,438 yards, 29 TD, 7 INT, 99.3 QB rating
This represented Goff’s best statistical performance since that aforementioned 2018 performance with Los Angeles. In his previous three seasons, the former Cal-Berkeley star averaged just 20 touchdowns against 12 interceptions.
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It’s not necessarily a surprise that the Lions are engaged in extension negotiations with Goff. First off, he’s now the 15th highest-paid quarterback in the NFL on a per-year basis. Secondly, Detroit’s brass has thrown its support behind Goff a ton recently.
“It’s a lot easier to get worse at QB than to get better at QB. I do think that Jared has proven that he’s the best quarterback for us,” Holmes said of Goff following the 2022 season.
Even after adding former Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, Goff seems to be the future at QB in Detroit. Nothing we’ve seen from the quarterback, or the up-and-coming team recently has changed that belief.