Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) talks to offensive coordinator Ben Johnson at practice during mini camp at Detroit Lions headquarters and practice facility in Allen Park on Tuesday, June 4, 2024.

Lions GM not worried about Jared Goff in post-Ben Johnson era

Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff threw for a career-best 37 touchdowns this season under the watchful eye of then-offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.

Lions general manager Brad Holmes doesn’t expect the good times to come to an end for Goff now that Johnson has moved on to become the head coach of the NFC North-rival Chicago Bears.

“Obviously, he was very productive with Ben as a coordinator but he had a lot of prior success before he even got here as well in a completely different system,” Holmes said on Thursday. “I think he’s a better quarterback, a more mature quarterback now than he was then when he had early success. I don’t foresee that. I think the guy’s in his prime. He’s gotten better and better every year. And when I say prime, I think, like, just entering it because he keeps ascending.

“I think every single year we’ve been here, the next year … the levels keep improving. Again, I have a lot of faith in Dan (Campbell, head coach) and I know that he’ll make sure Jared is in a good position.”

Goff, 30, was named a finalist for the Associated Press 2024 NFL Most Valuable Player award on Thursday after completing a career-high 72.4 percent of his passes for 4,629 yards this season.

He joined fellow quarterbacks Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills), Lamar Jackson (Baltimore Ravens) and Joe Burrow (Cincinnati Bengals) as well as Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley as finalists for the award.

Under Johnson, Detroit boasted the NFL’s No. 1 scoring offense this season (33.2 points per game) and finished second in total offense (409.5 yards per game). The Lions’ points (564) and regular-season wins (15) this season were franchise records.

Goff, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, is a four-time Pro Bowl selection with 35,058 passing yards and 222 touchdowns in 134 starts with the Los Angeles Rams (2016-20) and Lions.

–Field Level Media

Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) talks with head coach Dan Campbell (right) before the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Lions GM: QB Jared Goff ‘earned’ extension, a high priority

Lions general manager Brad Holmes continues checking off priorities in Detroit, and a long-term extension for quarterback Jared Goff is rising to the top of the list.

“He’s earned an extension,” Holmes said in a radio interview with 97.1 The Ticket. “It’s important. It’s a high priority for us. Both sides are working really, really hard. These things just take time.”

Closing in on the final season of a four-year, $134 million contract Goff signed before he was traded to Detroit in the QB swap that sent Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams, an extension has been in the works for months.

Holmes hoped to simultaneously share big contract news on Goff last month when the Lions struck new deals with offensive tackle Penei Sewell and wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.

“In a perfect world, we would’ve had all three of them done. Bang, bang, bang,” Holmes said. “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.”

Talks with Goff’s agent, Ryan Tollner, took a back seat during the NFL draft. Holmes didn’t select a quarterback among the Lions’ six picks but did draft Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker in the third round in 2023. Goff turns 30 in October.

A former No. 1 overall pick, Goff averaged $33.5 million annually on his existing contract while the market has exploded since massive deals last offseason raised the bar beyond $50 million per season.

The top-paid quarterback in terms of average pay per season is Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals at $55 million. He has $1.01 million more in guaranteed salary than the Los Angeles Chargers gave Justin Herbert, whose AAV is $52.5 million, in the same neighborhood but just ahead of Jalen Hurts (Philadelphia Eagles) and Lamar Jackson (Baltimore Ravens).

“We’ve done a lot of work. Again, both sides have. We’ve done a lot of work, dialogue’s been consistent,” Holmes said of how close the sides might be to a contract.

“There hasn’t been just dead periods and all that stuff. We’ve been talking. Again, I do have faith looking at all the numbers. You gotta think about what can we do now, and what are the impacts on the future, as well. And we look at all of it, because we said all along, when (coach) Dan (Campbell) and I first got here, we’re looking to build sustained success, and that’s still the goal.”

Goff completed 67.3 percent of his passes for 4,575 yards and 30 touchdowns last season while leading Detroit to its first division title since 1993 and its first two playoff wins since the 1991 season.

–Field Level Media

Jan 11, 2020; Frisco, Texas, USA; North Dakota State Bison quarterback Trey Lance (5) scrambles from James Madison Dukes safety D'Angelo Amos (24) in the third quarterat Toyota Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Lions GM intrigued by QB draft class

Don’t rule out quarterback as an option for the Detroit Lions with the No. 7 pick in the 2021 draft.

General manager Brad Holmes already made a major splash and reshaped the team’s footprint by trading longtime starter Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams for Jared Goff, a deal that becomes official March 17.

But Holmes is not done scouting quarterbacks by any stretch as he looks to build a contender alongside head coach Dan Campbell.

The Lions not only landed Goff in the QB swap with the Rams, but a pair of future first-round picks and a third-round pick in the 2021 draft. That’s enough ammunition for Holmes to make a move now — or bide his time.

“The quarterback position in general, what’s cool about this year is that they’re in all different flavors,” Holmes said. “You have a guy that can actually do it all, do it from the pocket, do it with his legs. You have another guy that probably a little bit more does it with his legs, a little bit more of being creative. There’s another guy probably does it more from the pocket.

“So all the different flavors makes it very, very intriguing in terms of when you’re looking across the whole scope of the class of these quarterbacks.”

The top four or five quarterbacks in the draft are expected to have final draft grades worthy of first-round consideration based on Field Level Media’s rankings: Trevor Lawrence (Clemson), Zach Wilson (BYU), Justin Fields (Ohio State), Mac Jones (Alabama) and North Dakota State wildcard Trey Lance.

“When you’re picking in the Top 10, I don’t think you can ignore and I think it’s smart drafting business anyways, when you’re picking in the Top 10 that you make sure you know that quarterback class very thoroughly,” Holmes said.

Free agency is likely to sharpen the Lions’ needs into focus with wide receiver Kenny Golladay, a candidate for the franchise tag, and pressing questions along the offensive line.

–Field Level Media