Coming off one of the best single-season performances in the history of the franchise, the Detroit Lions are riding high, and the future looks bright for a team that has typically spent their existence near the bottom of the NFL.
Part of the reason why the Lions were able to have so much success last season was due to the play of their starting quarterback, Jared Goff. After putting together a performance in 2022 that resulted in the third Pro Bowl selection of his career, Goff was solid under center, once again, for Detroit in 2023 when he completed 67.3 percent of his passes for 4,575 yards, 30 touchdowns and just 12 interceptions.
Acquired by the Lions in the trade that sent Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams in 2021, Goff struggled initially during his first season with Detroit. But in each of the last two years, he's thrown for at least 4,400 yards and 29 touchdowns, and he's looked more like the quarterback who was drafted No. 1 overall in 2016.
So, with his contract set to expire after the upcoming season, it's no surprise that he and the Lions have been talking about a possible extension. Extending Goff seems like a no-brainer for some, but Detroit giving him a new contract might actually be something that prevents the franchise from reaching its true potential.
Goff is going to be 30 in October, and his time as a definitive top-15 quarterback in the NFL is likely inching closer to the end. At best, he might have three solid seasons left in him before Lions fans start calling for his job.
If Goff was playing at an MVP level and essentially carrying Detroit on his back, then giving him a contract extension would be an easy decision to make. But he's sort of hovering in the area where he's not currently one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL heading into next season, but he's not terrible, either.
We also don't know how well Goff will be able to perform when Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson eventually leaves to take a head-coaching job somewhere else. The quarterback's worst season in Detroit was back in 2021, which also happens to be his only season with the Lions in which Johnson wasn't calling the offensive plays.
So, what if the Lions sign Goff to a four-year extension with a significant amount of fully guaranteed money this offseason, Johnson leaves next year and Goff's performance suffers mightily in 2025?
That would be a gigantic disaster.
If Detroit truly wants to reward Goff with a lucrative contract extension after how he's played during the last two seasons, then that's fine. But the Lions need to make sure they can get out of his new deal after a year or two to potentially avoid a fiasco with the quarterback if Johnson leaves in 2025.
