Jared Goff has had a resurgence for the Lions the past few years.
Despite head coach Dan Campbell's reluctance on the topic, if the Detroit Lions want to reach their Super Bowl aspirations, it will be on the shoulders of quarterback Jared Goff. However, there is no doubt that the Lions believe in him as the leader since they signed him to a four-year, $212 million contract.
Campbell spoke to the media after practice Monday to not only praise Goff for the work he has done with the Lions, but also talked how he is further challenging the 29-year old signal-caller. Even with the recent success, Campbell and the rest of the team expect a bigger jump in the 2024 season according to NBC Sports.
“He’s been everything that we hoped he would be, and then some,” Campbell said. “He brought a stable piece for us, a steady, reliable guy behind center who is going to do what we ask him to do. We take care of him, he’ll take care of the football, he’s gonna move it, he’ll be efficient and he’ll be our captain. And that’s at the least. What we got was so much more. We got that, and these last three years he’s continued to grow and gotten better.”
“I think he wants more, he continues to challenge himself, and the more he does that the more we load him up, the more we ask him to do, the more we put on his plate, because he wants it,” Campbell continued. “Where he’s able to go our offense is able to go. We ask him to do a lot and we’re going to ask him to do a little more than he did last year, because he can handle that. He’s proven that. He’s playing at a high level.”
Jared Goff also has support from Lions general manager Brad Holmes
Last season, Goff threw for 4,575 yards to go along with 30 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in what led the Lions to win the NFC North and an appearance in the conference championship game. Besides Campbell and the rest of Detroit, he also has the support of Lions general manger Brad Holmes who gave a strong endorsement to the former No. 1 overall pick.
“He’s the right guy, he’s the leader for us,” Holmes said. “He didn’t need a contract to go out there and do what he does on the field, he truly earned that, I have not seen a change in him. If anything, it’s been better just because it’s another year of the continuity that — I give Dan [Campbell] a lot of credit in terms of the continuity that he’s had with the coaching staff. That’s obviously helped, and we have a lot of familiar faces along with that too. I see it being even better.
“It’s been amazing to see his growth as a player ever since our days back with the Rams with him,” Holmes continued. “But yeah, I’m not going to say that he needed the contract to elevate him, he was already elevating, playing at a high level, but I do think it’s going to be better for all the other things I named.”
The Lions open the season at home against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night as they have true aspirations for their first Super Bowl in franchise history.
