The Rams making Jared Goff the NFL’s second-highest-paid player in September 2019 ended up benefiting the Lions, who capitalized on the former No. 1 overall pick’s depressed value barely 16 months later. Agreeing to take on Goff’s $33.5MM-per-year contract led to the Lions picking up an extra first-round pick in the January 2021 Matthew Stafford trade.
Detroit has kept Goff on that 2019 extension; the former Super Bowl starter is the only QB still attached to a deal agreed to during the 2010s. Extension rumors have circulated this year. Goff’s camp was believed to be targeting a new deal, and the Lions were reported to be engaging in dialogue on an updated contract. While this would be an interesting deal to complete, one GM told the Washington Post’s Jason La Canfora the Lions want to extend Goff, whose contract has fallen to 16th at the position.
Completing a Goff extension might be trickier for the Lions than it was for the Rams. In 2019, the Super Bowl LIII starter was viewed as an ascending talent going into his age-25 season. He had come off two straight quality seasons under Sean McVay, and while the Cal product was not viewed as necessarily a top-tier starter, he was seen as a rising player coming into his prime. Goff did not live up to that deal in Los Angeles and saw a midcareer regression lead him to Detroit, where he struggled in 2021. Early in his age-29 season, however, Goff is in a much better place — as the unquestioned starter for a team that has constructed an atypical rebuild around him.
Not taking the route most rebuilding teams have, the Lions have never enjoyed a modern rookie-QB contract. Stafford’s was signed during the 2006 CBA’s duration; that agreement doubled as the last before the slot system changed NFL roster building. Stafford signed a six-year, $72MM deal upon being chosen No. 1 overall in 2009. By comparison, Bryce Young is only attached to a four-year, $37.9MM accord.
The Lions still managed to build up their roster around Goff, thanks to the picks the Rams provided and the QB market igniting during the early 2020s. They have assembled a quality offensive line and found a promising play-caller in Ben Johnson, who moved off the HC carousel this offseason. Goff on a new contract would change the equation, though an extension would lower his cap number from $31.9MM 2024 place.
Although Goff has performed well on the heels of his bounce-back 2022 — a season that featured the eighth-year passer rank fifth in QBR (a career-high placement) — the Lions may still want to see more from him. Of course, the better Goff plays this year, the more he will be able to command on his next deal. Through three games, Detroit’s starter ranks fourth in QBR. Goff’s contract runs through the 2024 season, and the salary cap is expected to make another big jump next year. With the $50MM-per-year club being firmly established this offseason, the Lions may have a difficult negotiation coming.
Multiple execs told La Canfora they would shy away from authorizing a big-ticket Goff extension in line with the position’s current upper echelon, while another pegged Detroit’s QB as being worth at least a $45MM-per-year contract. While that would represent a sizable raise for Goff, the resurgent quarterback’s camp could also argue the cap growth and booming QB market would justify a payday north of $50MM AAV.
Goff, Stafford and a 2000 Charlie Batch one-off are the only Lions QBs to complete a winning season over the past 25 years. A Detroit NFC North title, or even a wild-card berth two years after a 3-13-1 season, would only boost Goff’s value, and he will likely have this season to convince Lions brass he is worth a megadeal. It is unknown if the sides will get serious about a negotiation during the season, but of the 15 QB contracts that have since topped Goff’s, none of them were signed in-season.
I get that he’s not “elite” but a former top overall pick who led a team to a Super Bowl while still under 30 isn’t exactly chopped liver.
But, people are like “this rando third round pick is obviously their QB of the future”.
Lol
that was a lot of words
I don’t think so, but I guess that’s obvious.
It’s 2023. As long as Detroit protects Goff, he can play for a very long time. He’s outplayed Stafford since the deal happened, in my non-scientific opinion, when adjusting for the talent level on the one Super Bowl run. This version of Jared Goff would have been enough to win the championship on that team, in my mind at least. It’s Detroit’s staff and environment that has seemingly brought this on in Goff, and I think that Goff and everyone around Detroit knows that. It’s likely why Johnson returned as O.C.
If that is the case, then one would think that Goff, while wanting a raise, likely wouldn’t push for the highest level deal that he could think of. The Lions’ ascent is due in large part to his top level play and leadership, and the Lions themselves have equally contributed to Goff’s resurgence.
Stafford always had a ton of yards and TDs because he was always coming from behind in the 2nd half of games and had to throw the ball all game to have a chance to come back. Goff won’t come close to his yards/TDs, but he will be much more efficient, as his offense is based more on the running game and play action. Goff deserves a contract near 4-5 years at around $180M-$225M. That would be a fair number for both parties and would also help the Lions build around him. If Goffs camp asks for an astronomical number, then we can try and develop H. Hooker before JG contact ends after the 24 season. Here’s to hoping they work it out, as I can see him leading this team deep into the playoffs!
The Giants foolish overpay for Daniel Jones has messed up the pay scale for “average” QBs – thus Goff has every right to think he’s going to make $50 million AAV. That will of course cause Detroit to miss out on the free agents that are needed to make them a true competitor instead of a middle of the pack bunch of tommy-try-hards.
I would say Dan is a below average QB.
don’t think so… he needs better receivers..
Overpay? His contract is essentially 2 years and giants can get out of it. Not an overpay at all. He has maybe the worst oline in the league and his skill players are bottom 5 in the league. He led the team to the playoffs with zilch last year and we will see what he does this year before anything else.
Jared Goff is a much better QB than Daniel Jones. Look at the numbers over the last 3 seasons. Now if he can continue this pace? That is the question…
Goff is slow runner, not that mobile. doesn’t matter with the line he has , and some decent WR and TE. look at the mess Fields is having in Chicago. put Fields or Jones in a Lion uniform and you might be surprised.
That’s kind of the point though. You can’t put Jones in a lions uniform because his contract is too high to keep the same lions team as they’re constructed around him. Goff with his skills and his price work… you go too much higher with the $ and you start losing pieces.
Lol
You could play with the NFL Pro Bowl rules with no defensive blitzing & put Fields behind a completely healthy Lions o-line….and Justin Fields would still throw for 99 yards a game.
Justin Fields inability to play QB has everything to do with his inability to read a defense and inaccurate throws. Fields is a wildcat QB. He is Pat White but drafted much, much higher.
Oh…
And who cares if Goff is immobile? The two best QBs before Mahomes were Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, two guys who would lose a 40 yard dash to their entire o-lines. You don’t have to be agile or fast to play Qb, you have to be smart & accurate.