Lions not rushing anything with Jared Goff contract extension

Jared Goff has more than earned a contract extension from the Detroit Lions. The average annual value of that deal has more or less been set by the quarterback market, it's just a matter of structure and how many years the deal ends up being.

Goff has made it clear he wants to stay in Detroit, while also at one point saying "it's not up to me." Everything head coach Dan Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes have said publicly makes it clear the feeling is mutual. So it's only a matter of time before a deal gets done.

Time, in some sense even as Goff heads toward the final year of his contract, is on the Lions' side to get an extension done. Waiting may only make it more expensive though, even if Goff's deal should clearly be a notch below the top of the quarterback market in terms of average annual value.

Brad Holmes not rushing anything with Jared Goff contract extension

The Lions have re-signed a couple of their own 2024 free agents already-kicker Michael Badgley and linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin. Others are of course on the radar to be re-signed, and extensions for Goff and Amon-Ra St. Brown are also on the radar this offseason.

Holmes spoke at the NFL Combine on Tuesday. Goff has a $5 million roster bonus due when the league year starts. But according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, that is not any kind of a deadline to get a deal done.

"No, we haven’t really weighed that into any of our decision-making. ”We’re in alignment in the direction that we want to proceed..."

Goff threw for 4,575 yards (second in the NFL) in 2023, with 30 touchdowns (fourth in the league) and and a career-best 67.3 percent completion rate (fifth in the league). Pro Football Focus ranked Goff 10th overall among all quarterbacks through the playoffs. PFF gave him their second-highest grade from a clean pocket, with a career-best turnover-worthy play rate (2.4 percent) and just 12.2 percent of his throws garnering a negative grade (81st percentile).

It's unlikely contract talks between the Lions and Goff will go awry. The negotiation is firmly rooted in the length of the deal, how many years are actually firmly committed and how the guaranteed money is structured. Again, it's only a matter of time before a deal is done. And Holmes is not rushing anything right now.