In line with how well he's playing so far this season, talk about Jared Goff's contract and his future with the Lions seems set to ramp up again. At this point, there's an argument that it should have been done already, before he boosted his market value. But waiting to see what he did this season before signing him long-term made a lot of sense.
Somewhere around $50 million per year in a new deal for Goff is not out of the question.
What will it cost the #Lions to extend Jared Goff?
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"I think he’s going to be in the $50 million per year range. ... What he lacks in speed and mobility, he makes up for with his football acumen and his arm."
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On Wednesday, head coach Dan Campbell talked about how well Goff is playing.
He’s playing at a very high level,” Campbell said. “He’s making the throws that are there, he’s seeing the field, and he’s exactly what we need and he’s doing exactly what we’re asking him to do. But I’ve said this before, he is an evolving quarterback. He’s developing, he’s been developing and he just keeps getting a little bit better, little bit better.”
Dan Campbell seems to say it all about Jared Goff's future with the Lions
Campbell was not willing to get too deep into where contract negotiations might be with Goff, and it's not totally his department anyway. But he did deliver a punch line that said plenty.
"I don’t want to get into contract talk, what we have (negotiated), what we haven’t. All I can tell you is he’s playing at a high level, and he needs to be with us.”
Goff's contract runs through 2024. His base salary for next year (just shy of $22 million) currently ranks ninth among quarterbacks for next year, and his $31.7 million cap hit current sits 11th.
The four-year, $160 million deal, with $92 million guaranteed, the New York Giants gave Daniel Jones this offseason was great news for Goff and his agent. He's not going to reset the top of the quarterback market, but the financial floor for his new deal was raised by the inflated deal Jones got.
Campbell and Goff will say all the right things about focusing on the season and letting others deal with such things, while saying little or nothing about where contract negotiations are. But with six simple words, Campbell said it all about how he envisions Goff's future in Detroit.