Jared Goff: The Detroit Lions quarterback of the future?

The Detroit Lions intend to trade away their longtime quarterback, Matthew Stafford, to the Los Angeles Rams. And while the widely reported trade can’t be made official until mid-March, the start of the new NFL year, for all intents and purposes, Stafford is gone.

And for some, that’s a sobering fact as Stafford has not only arguably been the team’s top player over the past 12 years, but he’ll also go down as one of the franchise’s best ever. One day, he’ll be honored like all the greats before him in Detroit. But for now, the veteran quarterback will continue his career on the west coast.

Where does this trade leave the Lions? Detroit is coming off its third losing season in a row, posting a record of 5-11 in 2020, last in the NFC North, and entering this offseason without a general manager or head coach (both were fired in late November).

The hiring of Brad Holmes as GM, Dan Campbell as head coach, and a flurry of big names added to both the front office and coaching staff has certainly garnered public acclaim. Still, this is a roster riddled with voids, populated by several former New England Patriots players due to the previous regime, and now is without their team’s best player.

In exchange for Stafford, the Lions received scratch-off lottery tickets in the form of future two first-round draft picks, a third-rounder this year, and quarterback Jared Goff. The first overall selection in the 2016 NFL Draft, many viewed the acquisition of Goff as nothing more than a salary dump by the Rams.

Los Angeles was clearly wanting to get out from under Goff’s massive contract, which will pay him $43 million over the next two years. The Rams seemed to have some major buyer’s remorse after inking him to a four-year, $134 million contract in 2019. Although Goff did lead Los Angeles to the Super Bowl earlier that year.

But it’s now starting to appear Detroit might see much more in Goff than initially speculated. He did lead the Rams to a record of 10-6 just last season, throwing for nearly 4,000 yards, 20 touchdowns, 13 interceptions. The passing offense in Los Angeles ranked 13th in 2020. That’s three spots lower than the Lions.

Here’s what longtime NFL writer Peter King wrote in his weekly column, Football Morning in America, this week about the Lions’ new regime and their feelings toward Goff as being more than a salary dump in the recent Stafford trade.

"“New coach Dan Campbell and new GM Brad Holmes had this in common: They both wanted Goff, and not just as a bridge quarterback. As director of college scouting for the Rams when Goff was picked in 2016, Holmes favored him inside the Rams draft room—and still does, I’m told. Campbell, I’m also told, liked Goff not just as a bridge quarterback but as the Lions quarterback of the future.”"

It appears the Detroit Lions are at least going to give Jared Goff the opportunity to prove he is the Pride’s quarterback of the future in 2021. And much of the rest of the offseason will be spent finding pieces to surround him (or a future passer not yet on the team). But the addition of Anthony Lynn as offensive coordinator and a stark change of environment could be the needed shift in Goff’s career to take his play to another level.