Lions Make Major Move With Jared Goff Contract for Cap Space

Jared Goff

Getty Jared Goff during a Rams game against the Falcons.

The Detroit Lions brought Jared Goff to the team this offseason, and as part of the deal, they took on Goff’s major salary.

After Goff came into the mix, however, there was a thought that the team may decide to make a bold move with the contract to free up some more cap space. Quickly, the team has apparently done just that. It has been revealed that Goff’s contract is set to see some major changes for the 2021 season.

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ESPN’s Field Yates provided a look at the details, which showed that the Lions are set to open up around $15 million in cap space for this season by converting $20 million of Goff’s salary into a signing bonus for this season.

While the move provides the Lions some breathing room now to finish out free agency as well as get their 2021 draft class under contract, it does add $5 million to Goff’s cap hit from 2022-2024. That’s a decent chunk of change which could make a Goff trade or release just a touch more painful.

Regardless, the Lions needed space now, and that’s just what this move is about to give them.


Goff’s Contract Extension With Rams Was a Whopper

The Rams made the move to keep Goff under contract and try to build around him for the future after his Super Bowl run with a massive contract ahead of the 2019 year. The Rams paid Goff $134 million dollars $110 million of which was guranteed, which was the highest contract for a quarterback ever in the league at the time. Quickly, the deal was surpassed by Patrick Mahomes, but Goff did cash in on the deal and the Rams figured he was their quarterback of the future.

After a tough 2020 year, that notion hit the skids in a big way, which prevented Goff from finishing the deal in Los Angeles. A trade to the Lions for Matthew Stafford complicated things further, but Detroit is giving Goff an audition to be the guy moving forward. Clearly, there are more moves they can make with the contract down the line if they so choose.

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Analyst Predicts Jared Goff to Have Successful Lions Career

Goff enters the Lions with a bruised ego considering how things ended in Los Angeles. The Rams were open about their hopes of dumping the quarterback, and once they zeroed in on Stafford, they found a willing trade partner with the Lions. Now, Goff is on the move. While many consider him a mere throw-in or a guy who’s contract is an albatross, it’s clear Goff has received some love for what he could still do in the league.

ESPN’s Jeff Darlington tweeted after the trade that he isn’t giving up on Goff doing big things and being in the playoffs very soon. The reason? His overreaching talent.

The upside in this move for Goff is the fact he will land in Detroit with Brad Holmes, Aubrey Pleasant and Ray Agnew. There’s been tons of turnover and Rams folks coming to the Lions in recent weeks, and Goff will get to start fresh with folks who know his talent in a great spot for him.

To be clear, Darlington doesn’t say where Goff could be in the playoffs within the next two seasons, but it’s hard to imagine Brad Holmes giving up on him that quickly, so the implication could be that the Lions might be better than some are giving them credit for in the end after this deal.

Goff will have his chance to prove the haters wrong and stick it to the Rams in the future, and it’s clear he could be motivated to do so.

It’s clear Goff has talent, so it will be interesting to see if he can live up to some of the hype. Whether or not he does, his cap situation is about to change in the short-term.

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