Detroit radio host offers alternate idea about Lions' plan with Jared Goff

Despite it falling down the pecking order of contract extensions for the Detroit Lions, it is only a matter of time before Jared Goff gets a new deal. It's still only May, two-plus weeks before Memorial Day, and the concern level shouldn't really ramp up until training camp is here in late-July. Even then, Week 1 would stand as a harder deadline to have the deal done.

On Thursday morning, general manager Brad Holmes used a lot of words but really said nothing about where contract talks are with Goff. As expected, which is fine. It's not meaningful either direction in regard to how negotiations are going. But the clock is slowly ticking, and that shouldn't be completely set aside.

The whole vibe around the Lions and Goff's agent coming together on a long-term deal has been "when, not if." Holmes acknowledged the added complication of a quarterback contract, with all it entails and all the residual implications on continuing to build the roster.

It's hard to find anyone who thinks Goff won't be the Lions' quarterback for a few years beyond 2024. But could that change?

Detroit radio host offers alternate theory about Lions' plans with Jared Goff

On Wednesday's episode of "The Daily Ticket" on 97.1 The Ticket, Jeff Riger talked about the situation with Goff.

"So, go back a couple weeks when the draft was here. Wednesday before the draft, Penei Sewell, Amon-Ra St. Brown get contract extensions. Every Lions fan figured, 'Goff is next', icing on the cake."

Riger noted the immediate report from ESPN's Adam Schefter, after the news of the new deals for St. Brown and Sewell, that a deal was not "imminent" for Goff and "no deal was close" at that time. Since then, as Riger mentioned, we hadn't heard anything before Holmes' radio appearance on Thursday. And, again, Holmes simply hit all the right notes without offering anything insightful.

Riger said he was doing a show a week ago or so, and he was asked a question regarding the Lions and Goff.

"Who needs who more?"

Riger continued, with his answer to that question.

"Jared Goff, does he need the Lions more? Or do the Lions need Goff more? What's the answer? What's the first thing that pops in your head?....When I hear this question, when I was asked this question, the first thing I thought was, 'Goff needs the Lions more."

Riger rightly praised Holmes for what he's done to build the Lions roster, pointing to Goff having a unique situation that would not exist anywhere else right now. Any other team with a roster as good as the Lions has their quarterback.

Riger pointed to how Goff may not get the credit he deserves, so maybe the Lions need him more. Then Riger stretched to a different idea to ultimately land back on Goff needing the Lions more.

"Or maybe, and we've not even acknowledged this....we've not even thought about this...Maybe Brad Holmes has zero, zero inclination of re-signing Jared Goff."

Riger acknowledged Holmes' role in the Rams drafting Goff, and trading for him when he became Lions' general manager. But the proverbial elephant in the room is Hendon Hooker, who was a third-round pick last year and will have a chance to show himself this offseason.

"Is there a chance that Brad Holmes has no desire, at all, to give Jared Goff big money?", Riger wondered.

As unlikely as it is, the Lions could franchise tag Goff in 2025 and Riger mentioned that. They have that two years of potential contract control, at which point Goff would be 31 years old.

It's certainly different to suggest the Lions and Brad Holmes have no intention to extend Goff. Even as he suggested it and talked it out, Riger wasn't quite all-in on the warm take. But the question somehow doesn't feel that outlandish on the surface.

Here's that full episode of "The Daily Ticket". The segment about the Lions and Goff starts at about the 4:30 mark.