The Detroit Lions have had an impressive offseason, and a big reason why is because of their dedication to reward in-house talent. They gave star wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown a monster four-year extension and made offensive tackle Penei Sewell the highest-paid offensive lineman in the NFL. Several Lions were made very happy this offseason, but what about the quarterback?
Jared Goff has one more year remaining on his contract, and CBS Sports lead NFL insider Jonathan Jones reported back in January that both sides are "very interested" in an extension. However, one has not yet come to fruition while his teammates have had success at the negotiating table. During a recent interview on WXYT-FM (97.1), Lions general manager Brad Holmes addressed Goff's contract situation.
"First and foremost, he's earned an extension," Holmes said, via the Detroit Free Press. "It's important, it's a high priority for us and both sides are working really, really hard and these things just take time."
It's understandable why the quarterback extension is the one that's the most complicated. We now have four NFL signal-callers who are making north of $50 million a year, so where exactly does Goff's market value fall?
"The whole process of budgeting and preparation and all that, that kind of goes into it, we've been preparing for a while," Holmes said. "And look, in a perfect world, we'd have had all three of them done, bang, bang, bang, but these things just kind of take a while, especially with the quarterback market. But I do have faith that it's going to get done."
Some expected Goff to become an afterthought when he was dealt from the Los Angeles Rams to the Motor City, but instead of fading, he flourished. In 2023, the Lions won their first division title since 1993 and their first playoff game since 1991. Detroit tied a franchise record for wins with 12 and set a record for most 30-point games with nine. Goff completed a career-high 67.3% of his passes for 4,575 yards, 30 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in the regular season. In the postseason, he became the first quarterback in NFL history to snap decade-long playoff win droughts for two different teams.
For the first time in a long time, the Lions are legitimate contenders. And Goff is a big reason why.
