Detroit Lions: Could Jared Goff be more than a stopgap?

The Detroit Lions will have a new signal-caller under center next season. But could Jared Goff be more than just a stopgap on the way to Motown’s next franchise quarterback?

There isn’t a Detroit Lions fan alive that doesn’t know their Motor City cats have agreed to trade Matthew Stafford, the franchises all-time leader in just about every meaningful passing category to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for two future first-round draft picks, a third-round pick this year and quarterback Jared Goff. A transaction that will become official on March 17th when the league’s new year begins.

Fans and pundits alike all over the country have lauded the work Lions’ new general manager Brad Holmes did to pull off that trade. Considering that the organization is in a rebuild mode, getting two first-round picks in return for Stafford, along with the immediate third-round pick this April helps give Detroit some ammunition for the rebuilding process.

Also considering that some questioned whether the Lions could even get one first-round pick, much less more for Matthew’s services, what Holmes did had to be considered a success. Even if the second first-round pick seems to be more tied into Detroit taking Jared Goff off the Rams hands.

One way or another the deed has been done and now Holmes and new head coach Dan Campbell are charting the way forward to build a competitive roster. There are many salary cap-related decisions to be made and many holes to fill. It’s time to roll up their sleeves down at Allen Park and get ready for the real work.

With the departure of Matthew Stafford, one of the points of conjecture is who will be the Lions’ next franchise quarterback. Jared Goff is expected to hold down the position for next season and possibly 2022 while Brad Holmes searches for Detroit’s long-term answer.

However, what if Jared Goff isn’t just a placeholder? Is it possible that maybe Jared Goff could be expected to be that long-term answer?