Dan Campbell acknowledges the Lions have to think about QB after Jared Goff

Going against the broader narrative from him and GM Brad Holmes, Lions head coach Dan Campbell acknowledged consideration for who will succeed Jared Goff under center.

Jared Goff responded to what was a pivotal season in his career with one of the best campaigns of his career in 2022. He has cemented himself as the Detroit Lions starting quarterback for 2023, but beyond that should still be a question dependent on available options and/or timeline.

Everything general manager Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell has said about the Lions quarterback up to this week has started with Goff as the starter, with few major public comments beyond that.

Holmes has specifically talked about fortifying the backup situation behind Goff, and this week in Indianapolis at the NFL Combine he wouldn’t rule out the idea of taking a quarterback early in April’s draft if it makes sense.

Dan Campbell acknowledges consideration for who will succeed Jared Goff

Dan Campbell sat down with Jonathan Jones and Rick Spielman of CBS Sports on Wednesday. He praised Goff, while adding an eye on the future that should be inherent but hadn’t been expressed so bluntly before.

"What he’s done is—and what we were hopeful and thought we were going to get—is a guy who, he’s our guy,” Campbell said. “He’s bought us time here. We believe we can win with Jared Goff. And in the meantime, we also know he’s not going to be here for the next 10 years. It’s not like Jared Goff is a rookie. So certainly our eyes are on potentially a quarterback.The question is where do you acquire that at? And that’s something that Brad and I kick around all the time. But we don’t feel like we’re pressed right now. We don’t feel like we’re pressed, but that doesn’t mean our eyes aren’t on a quarterback.”"

The Lions notably met with Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson this week at the Combine, and they presumably talked to other signal callers too. Richardson is considered raw and not necessarily an immediate starter. So sitting behind Goff in Detroit for a year would seem ideal for him while allowing the Lions to plan for the future at the most important position on the field.

Pre-draft smoke screens start now and last until late-April. But Campbell refreshingly has trouble not saying a lot of what he feels and thinks. So it certainly seems he and Holmes have had serious discussions about taking a quarterback in this year’s draft.