Jared Goff

Lions GM Discusses QB Position, Draft

March 11th, 2021 at 8:42pm CST by Ben Levine

Following the Jared Goff/Matthew Stafford trade, the Lions quarterback depth chart is already going to look a whole lot different in 2021. Based on some recent comments from general manager Brad Holmes, it might not just be the top of the depth chart that’ll see changes. During an appearance on the Huddle and Flow podcast, the executive noted that the team will definitely consider drafting a quarterback, even with the seventh-overall pick.

“I don’t think when you’re picking this high that you can be ‘out’ on any position,” Holmes said. “But obviously, quarterback is such an important position and I just think it’s good drafting business, always, to be very, very thorough on that quarterback class – regardless of what your situation is. When I was with the Rams, I always said, regardless of what you have at quarterback [you have to be thorough], and especially now, it’s the same approach. It is a good crop coming out this year, but it’s definitely not a position that will be ignored by us by any means.”

This isn’t a massive surprise. After all, Goff has underwhelmed over the past two seasons, and the quarterback obviously wasn’t the main asset acquired in the Stafford deal (that honor belongs to the pair of future first-rounders). However, the team still has at least two (pricey) years of Goff, so they can take a patient approach at the position knowing Goff will probably be under center for at least 2021.

We leaned earlier this week that even the Lions’ backup quarterbacks aren’t safe. The front office has reportedly had trade discussions with teams about backup Chase Daniel.

More Fallout From Matthew Stafford Trade

February 7th, 2021 at 12:53pm CST by Rory Parks

It’s been a week since the Rams and Lions completed the Matthew Stafford trade, but the fallout from that deal is ongoing. Here’s the latest:

We previously heard that the Panthers offered their No. 8 overall pick in this year’s draft, plus a later pick, for Stafford. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter), that later selection was a fifth-rounder, and Carolina also included Teddy Bridgewater in the proposal, so the Lions would at least have had a veteran signal-caller to take Stafford’s place while they groomed a younger QB. Plus, Detroit would have had the No. 7 and No. 8 overall picks in the draft, so it would have had a terrific chance to land a top collegiate passer and another elite prospect, or at least enough ammo to trade up for a top QB prospect.
What’s more, Bridgewater’s contract is much less onerous than that of Jared Goff, who ended up going to the Lions in the swap. But as Peter Schrager of the NFL Network tweets, the Lions didn’t just take on Goff’s contract in order to squeeze more draft picks out of the Rams. They actually wanted Goff and believe he can regain the form he displayed in the 2017-18 seasons, which is a key factor in evaluating Detroit’s return.
When negotiations with the Rams commenced, though, the Lions were interested in another high-profile LA player. As Schefter reports in a separate tweet, Detroit first requested DT Aaron Donald, a request that the Rams summarily dismissed. Donald just landed his third Defensive Player of the Year award, and he obviously would have gone a long way towards the Lions’ much-needed defensive rebuild.
Stafford’s presence is attracting free agents to the Rams, as Schefter writes. Already, players have reached out to Stafford to express their interest in teaming up with him in Los Angeles, and Lions wide receiver Marvin Jones — who is eligible for free agency — is one such player. However, the Rams are projected to be well over the new salary cap of $180.5MM, so it’s unclear how active they will be in the free agent market.

Jared Goff Addresses Trade To Lions

February 3rd, 2021 at 4:18pm CST by Sam Robinson

Upon finding out the Rams had included him in their trade package for Matthew Stafford, Jared Goff said he was “extremely disappointed and upset,” according to Sam Farmer and Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times. The five-year veteran has come to better terms with the trade in the days since.

The Rams went from parting with considerable draft capital to acquire Goff over Carson Wentz at No. 1 overall in 2016 to giving him a four-year, $134MM extension in 2019 to being noncommittal about his 2021 status. Goff is now bound for Detroit.

“Ultimately, they wanted to go in a different direction,” Goff said, via Farmer. “As the quarterback, as the guy that’s at arguably the most important position on the field, if you’re in a place that you’re not wanted and they want to move on from you, the feeling’s mutual.

“You don’t want to be in the wrong place. It became increasingly clear that was the case. [The trade] is something that I’m hopeful is going to be so good for my career.”

The Lions were able to pry two first-round picks from the Rams because of the lofty guarantees in Goff’s deal. The Super Bowl LIII starter, at least publicly, has not acknowledged a point where his status in Los Angeles went south. Goff finished 22nd in Total QBR in 2019 and 23rd in 2020, dropping from the Pro Bowl perch on which he resided after his first two seasons with Sean McVay.

“That’s the tough part right now is trying to figure that out, when did that happen?” Goff said. “Those are all conversations that I may or may not have, and try to figure it out. That’s the conversation to have.”

Discussions with Dan Campbell and other members of the Lions’ new regime have led Goff to the reported conclusion he will be the team’s 2021 starter. The Lions will have a non-Stafford primary starting quarterback for the first time since their 0-16 2008 season.

While Detroit will likely be linked to passers with its No. 7 overall pick, the team has Goff under contract through 2024. No easy out from this deal exists until after the 2022 season. A year after the Rams took on more than $33MM in combined dead money from Todd Gurley and Brandin Cooks‘ departures, they will eat $22.2MM — a single-contract record — in 2021 because of Goff’s exit.

“[Discussions with Lions brass are] what made me go, ‘oh my God, this is how it’s supposed to feel. This makes me feel great,’ how excited they were, how fired up they were,” Goff said. “… As time has gone on over the last few days, and even the end of that night, it becomes a positive and you start to feel really good about yourself again. You start to feel, I don’t want to say relief is the word, but you start to feel happy, grateful, ready for a new opportunity.”

Goff-Stafford Fallout: Rams, Lions, Suitors

January 31st, 2021 at 9:49pm CST by Sam Robinson

Sean McVay‘s call to Jared Goff informing him of the Rams‘ decision to trade him ended quickly, but the five-year starter will exit a rapidly deteriorating (for him) situation. Both McVay and Les Snead gave suboptimal endorsements of Goff’s 2021 status recently. While the Lions could well draft a quarterback with their first-round pick, Goff is now set up to be the starter in Detroit.

“I’m just excited to be somewhere that I know wants me and appreciates me,” Goff said, via NFL.com’s Michael Silver. “I’m moving forward and couldn’t be more excited to build a winner there. I’m excited about Dan (Campbell) and the whole staff.”

Goff had entered the past four Rams seasons as the team’s unquestioned starter and will now attempt to stabilize his career in Detroit. The Rams will host the Lions at some point next season. Here is the latest from Saturday night’s blockbuster trade:

Several teams made offers for Matthew Stafford. We can add Washington to that list. The NFC East champions presented the Lions an offer featuring more 2021 assets than the Rams offered, Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post tweets. It can be assumed Washington was willing to part with its first-round pick — No. 19 overall — but the team’s proposal could not match the unique opportunity the Lions had in leveraging Goff’s lavish contract into a monster Rams package. Washington has Alex Smith and Kyle Allen under contract for 2021, but Smith’s status is far from certain and Allen is coming off a severe injury. Taylor Heinicke is set to be an RFA.
Joining the Panthers, Broncos, Patriots and Washington in pursuing Stafford: the 49ers, Colts and Bears, according to NBC Sports’ Peter King (Twitter link) and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. All of these teams have quarterback questions, though the 49ers have indicated Jimmy Garoppolo will be their starter next season. A Bears deal would have certainly qualified as farfetched, but Chicago made an effort at a rare intra-divisional trade. Mitchell Trubisky is a free agent and obviously has not delivered anything close to what the Bears envisioned when they drafted him. Nick Foles is under contract for 2021, but the Bears, at the very least, will bring in competition for a quarterback they benched this season. The Colts lost Philip Rivers to retirement and have Jacoby Brissett as a UFA-to-be. While Jim Irsay said he would welcome Andrew Luck back, nothing has transpired on this front in a while.
Goff has already spoken with Campbell and other Lions staffers, and Jeff Darlington of ESPN.com notes (via Twitter) the five-year veteran has a physical coming soon. While the Lions could technically fail Goff on his physical and void the trade, Darlington adds that based on Goff’s early conversations with Detroit coaches it can clearly be assumed the former No. 1 overall pick will be the team’s starter to open the 2021 season.

Lions Had 6+ Offers For Matthew Stafford

January 31st, 2021 at 10:55am CST by Zachary Links

The Lions agreed to trade Matthew Stafford to the Rams over the weekend, but not before mulling more than six offers in total, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com hears (Twitter links). A few of those packages included a 2021 first-rounder. Ultimately, the Lions opted for two future first-round picks, plus Jared Goff‘s outsized contract.

The Lions’ choice may reflect some level of confidence in Goff, who has struggled mightily since signing a four-year, $134MM extension with the Rams. Meanwhile, the Rams have secured a clear upgrade at the QB position for the here-and-now. Of course, the deal also shows exactly how hard it was for the Rams to unload Goff’s contract. The Rams mortgaged the future even further with this blockbuster, sacrificing their 2022 and 2023 first-rounders, plus a 2021 third-round pick. They’ll also be saddled with $22.2MM in dead money, while saving $12.4MM on his ’21 cap hit.

At one point, it was reported that 10-12 teams had expressed interest in Stafford. The 49ers – with a once-promising and highly-paid QB of their own — were among the rumored suitors, though it’s not clear if they were among the finalists. At the end of the day, the Rams outbid everyone else, landing the soon-to-be 33-year-old and escaping one of the league’s largest commitments all at once. The Lions, now led by ex-Rams exec Brad Holmes, will have ample ammunition as they remake their roster. As for the Rams — they’ll be without their original first-round pick until 2024, at the earliest.

Lions Trade Matthew Stafford To Rams For Jared Goff

January 31st, 2021 at 12:07am CST by Zachary Links

The Lions have agreed to trade Matthew Stafford to the Rams, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The deal will send the Lions’ longtime star to L.A. in exchange for fellow QB Jared Goff, plus a slew of draft picks. The exact terms of the trade could evolve in the coming weeks, but here’s what the trade currently looks like:

Rams receive:

QB Matthew Stafford

Lions receive:

QB Jared Goff
2021 third-round pick
2022 first-round pick
2023 first-round pick

The deal cannot become official until March 17th, though Stafford will surely be in contact with his new bosses much sooner. Stafford, soon to be 33, had spent all 12 of his NFL seasons in Detroit. When Stafford and the Lions agreed to go their separate ways, the Colts, Patriots, Broncos, and Washington TBDs were quickly connected to him. Ultimately, the Rams pounced on their chance to upgrade at the QB position and unload Goff’s contract in a historic swap of former No. 1 overall picks.

Goff earned Pro Bowl nods in Year 2 and Year 3 of his pro career, including a 2018 campaign where was under center for a Super Bowl appearance. Things have tailed off over the past two years, despite his high-priced extension. In 2019, he threw a career-high 16 interceptions. He followed that up with just 20 passing touchdowns in 2020 — the lowest total since his rookie year, when he started in just seven games.

Stafford, meanwhile, has fallen short of the 20-TD mark just once since 2011. Aside from his injury-filled 2019 campaign with just 19 passing touchdowns, he’s been an absolute rock for the Lions. The Rams are now set to add one of the game’s top quarterbacks to one of the league’s most talented rosters.

The Lions, meanwhile, will try their hand with Goff, who won’t turn 27 until October. Not long removed from his NFC title — or his No. 1 overall selection, for that matter — there’s reason to believe that Goff can get back on track. Even if he can’t, the Lions have tons of draft ammunition to work with in their rebuild.

Rams Shopping QB Jared Goff?

January 30th, 2021 at 8:31am CST by Ben Levine

Raise your hand if you saw this one coming. Following news from last night that Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford would welcome a trade to the Rams, we’re now hearing that Los Angeles is shopping around their incumbent signal-caller. Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic reports that the Rams have held “exploratory talks with multiple teams” regarding a Jared Goff trade.

From a financial perspective, trading Goff is easier said than done. As Rodrigue explains, the Rams would be stuck with $22.2MM in dead money if they were to trade the former first-overall pick. However, a trade would be more palatable if it took place after June 1, as the Rams would be left with only $6.8MM in dead money (plus another $15.4MM in dead cap in 2022). As our own Sam Robinson pointed out last night, releasing Goff is also unrealistic. The guarantees in the quarterback’s four-year, $134MM deal go through 2022, and the organization doesn’t have an easy out on that contract until 2023. While Stafford has base salaries of just $9.5MM and $12.5MM over the next two years, Goff’s contract certainly complicates any potential trade.

After earning Pro Bowl nodes in his sophomore and junior seasons (including a 2018 campaign where he helped guide the Rams to a Super Bowl loss), Goff has seemingly plateaued over the past two years. He tossed a career-high 16 interceptions in 2019, and his 20 passing touchdowns in 2020 was the lowest total since his rookie year (when he started only seven games). For comparison’s sake, Stafford has tossed fewer than 20 touchdowns only once since 2011, and that came during a 2019 campaign where he compiled 19 passing touchdowns in only eight games.

As Sam noted last night, Rams head coach Sean McVay and GM Les Snead have recently made comments indicating Goff’s status is less than secure. Rodrigue also notes that there’s a connection between the Rams’ and Lions’ front offices; new Lions GM Brad Holmes previously served as the Rams’ director of college scouting. Now ,that’s not to say that any Goff trade would necessarily involve the Lions; considering Detroit’s apparent desire to restart, it doesn’t seem that Goff would be a fit in any hypothetical Stafford-to-Los Angeles deal. Still, the connection between the front offices is too obvious to ignore.

Rams To Have Open QB Competition In Training Camp

January 27th, 2021 at 12:50pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

With each passing day, it becomes more and more clear how little confidence the Rams have in Jared Goff. Earlier this week, GM Les Snead said Goff “is a Ram at this moment” and that it’s “too early” to tell his future. In other words, the kiss of death in GM-speak.

Immediately after Los Angeles’ season ended with a playoff loss to Green Bay, Sean McVay said Goff was the quarterback “right now.” Now it appears that even if Goff manages to make it to training camp on the roster, he’s not guarantee the starting job. There will be an open competition for the job in Rams camp between Goff and John Wolford, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network is told (Twitter video link), and that’s if Goff isn’t traded first.

Rapsheet’s comments also seem to indicate there’s a good chance Goff is dealt this offseason, although it’s unclear who would want to take on his hefty contract. It’s a remarkable fall from grace for the former first overall pick, as just a couple of years ago Goff was thriving in McVay’s system and led the Rams to the Super Bowl. As Rapoport points out, Goff’s 45 wins since the 2017 season are second in the league behind only Tom Brady.

On the other hand if me manages to win the job, it would be a meteoric rise for Wolford. As of a month ago, he had never taken a regular season NFL snap. He then got the start in Week 17 after Goff hurt his thumb, and started the Rams’ wild card win over Seattle. He was quickly knocked out of that game though, and Goff (serving as the emergency quarterback) took over and got the win.

Goff’s NFC title run earned him a huge extension, one that Snead and McVay have now clearly come to regret. He’s signed through the 2024 season, although a team could very easily get out of it after the 2022 campaign, when cutting him would only have an $8.6MM dead cap hit per Spotrac.

This surely isn’t the last we’ve heard of the Rams’ quarterback situation. Snead and McVay have been very aggressive making moves during their time together (like with the trade for Jalen Ramsey), and it wouldn’t be at all surprising if they manage to pull off another splash despite limited resources.

Rams GM: “Too Early” To Call Jared Goff’s Future

January 26th, 2021 at 2:09pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier this month, Rams head coach Sean McVay didn’t offer much in the way of assurances when he was asked about Jared Goff‘s future. On Tuesday, Rams GM Les Snead offered up a similar answer when chatting with reporters.

“Not going to get into specifics…That’s the beautiful mystery of the future,” Snead said. (Twitter link via Greg Beacham of the Associated Press). “Jared Goff is a Ram at this moment. It’s way too early to speculate.”

Bolster’s by the league’s top total defense, the Rams made it to the divisional round before falling to the Packers. Meanwhile, the former No. 1 overall pick regressed, tossing tons of interceptions and putting his L.A. future in jeopardy.

Snead, known for his aggressiveness, might have a hard time trading Goff, if that’s what he wants to do. The QB is under contract through 2024 thanks to the monster extension he signed in 2019. Meanwhile, there’s no realistic way to cut him before next season, given the dead money that would come with his release. Ultimately, the Rams may have to bring in competition for Goff, rather than move on from him.

In other Rams roster news, left tackle Andrew Whitworth has confirmed to the Rams that he’ll return in 2021. For his part, Snead has no issue with Whitworth’s contract, which will carry a $11.17MM hit against the cap.

Sean McVay Non-Committal On Jared Goff

January 17th, 2021 at 9:59pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Rams just lost their defensive coordinator to the Chargers, and more big changes could be on the way. Los Angeles just wrapped up what was by all accounts a successful season, winning a playoff game and advancing to the divisional round after failing to make the postseason the year before. But if they want to make it back to their old heights of the 2018 Super Bowl run, they’ll need much better production in the passing game.

Sean McVay seems to understand that, and he’s now raised plenty of eyebrows in his last two press conferences by declining to commit to Jared Goff. In his post-game press conference immediately after the Rams’ loss to the Packers, McVay was asked whether Goff is his quarterback and he replied “yeah, he’s the quarterback right now.” As we’ve often seen, “right now” can be something of a kiss of death in coach-speak.

In his end of year media availability on Sunday, McVay muddied the waters even further. “I’m evaluating everything we do, and that includes the QB position,” McVay said, adding “I’m not ready to make any sort of statements with regards to ANY starting position,” per Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Los Angeles had the league’s top total defense this season, the weapons are good enough, the offensive line is solid, and the coaching is by all accounts great. As such, it’s fair to assume that the only way to increase their ceiling is for Goff to improve, because it’ll be hard for the defense to play any better in 2021. The former first overall pick regressed this season, ranking toward the top of the league in interceptions despite being toward the bottom in average depth of target.

It sounds like McVay is far from happy with his current depth chart, but his options are limited. Goff is under contract through the 2024 season thanks to the big extension he signed in September of 2019 that is only really starting to kick in now. There’s no realistic way to cut him before next season with the dead cap implications.

No team is likely to take on his contract in a trade, which would seem to indicate the only way for McVay to replace him would be to add some competition to the roster. It would be really hard to fit another big contract next to Goff’s, which would mean that competition would likely need to come in the form of a cheaper veteran or a player on a rookie deal.

It’s going to be a very interesting offseason in Los Angeles. Perhaps GM Les Snead, noted for his aggressiveness in recent years, has one more trick up his sleeve.

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