Jared Goff, entering contract year, says he’d love to stay in Detroit long term
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) looks for a teammate against the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday, Jan. 7, in Santa Clara, California. 28, 2024. Joel Bissell | MLive.com
The feeling seems to be mutual.
Now entering a contract year, the Lions quarterback says he’s ready to cement his place in the organization’s long-term future, but admits the situation isn’t entirely under his control. “I’ve loved every minute of it here and I’m going to love it even more,” Goff said after cleaning out his locker Monday afternoon. “I love Dan (Campbell), I love coach and all my teammates. Yes it would be nice. But that’s not up to me.”
Goff will receive a base salary of $21.7 million next season, 17th among the league’s highest-paid quarterbacks at $31.7 million. Now he’s coming off two outstanding seasons in which he led Detroit to two playoff wins and a top-five offense in the NFC Championship and a new contract that could net him about $45 million a year.
“It’s not about me,” Goff said. “I love it here. We’ll see what happens over time. But yeah, I love it here and I love Dan and all the coaches and all my teammates. “It’s out of my control and it’s up to my reps and the people over there (in the front office).”
Goff came with two first-round picks and a third-round pick in Matthew Stafford’s blockbuster three years ago. The draft capital that comes with him tells you all you need to know about what the Los Angeles Rams think of him. And after the initial shock of the trade wore off, Goff embraced the opportunity to start over with his coaching staff. I trusted him. Goff was expected to be Detroit’s bridge quarterback, but the Lions never believed the former No. 1 overall pick was the right choice to lead this rebuild. Goff felt the love and immediately blossomed when Campbell and Ben Johnson took over the offense midway through his first season in Detroit. When Johnson takes over as offensive coordinator in 2022, he’s counting on Goff to build a new offense.
“I think empowering someone in any position makes them a better player overall because you tend to make those things work, whether it’s technique or actual play,” Johnson said. said last week. “At least that’s my experience. The mistake we’ve seen in offensive football the last few years is we’ve seen guys come in and spread the playbook and try to switch quarterbacks, and there’s some growth there. Defender and Summoner. But I think it all starts with what the quarterback does best. “So that was Jared’s starting point a few years ago. What does it do best? Then we looked at how to grow and develop. So it’s a step-by-step process and ideas interweaving.”
Goff thrived like never before in the new offense, winning his third Pro Bowl that year and playing at an even higher level than he did when he led the Rams to the Super Bowl in 2018. This year, Goff completed a career-high 67.3 percent of his passes for 4,575 yards, 30 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Detroit finished second overall in the league. Behind this potent offense, the Lions set a franchise record for regular season wins (12), won their first division title since 1993 and earned their first playoff appearance at Ford Field. The match was ultimately played against the same team. Goff refused. As Matthew Stafford is at home, the quarterback yells “YES-RED GOFF!” Yes, Red Gough!” Before reaching the Wild Card game venue The chants continued throughout the night, and Goff impressed, completing 15 of his first 16 passes and leading Detroit on three touchdown drives. The Lions won that game and defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the divisional round as Goff chants echoed through Ford Field. In three playoff games, Goff played turnover-free football while completing 69.4 percent of his passes for 837 yards (league high), four touchdowns and a 103.3 passer rating. He became the first Lions quarterback to win multiple playoff games since Tobin Rothe in 1957.
When asked how important it was to him to earn another senior season, Goff said, “I don’t know. That’s how competition works. If that happens, so be it. If not, then no. “I’ve loved every minute I’ve spent here and I’d like to enjoy it more.”
Now, “YES-RED GOFF!” JA-RED GOFF” is all over the state, including college hockey games (University of Michigan vs. Western Michigan University), several Grand Rapids Griffins games, Pistons and Red Wings games, and even grocery stores. After a rough start in Detroit, Goff embraced the city and beyond.
“In the last three weeks — it’s been a long time — since the playoffs started, we’ve been able to win our home games and see the reaction from the fans, not just to me, but to our whole team. It’s very special,” Goff said. “It’s something I’ll never forget. Obviously the season didn’t end the way we thought (in San Francisco) and last night was disappointing. But yes. The two home games of the playoffs were unique, electrical and very interesting as you think. “
