Getty Jared Goff celebrates with Brock Wright in the 2021-22 season finale.
It’s an old adage around Michigan that one of the toughest jobs in the state is playing quarterback for the Detroit Lions. As a result, whomever is in that post could be seen as on the hot seat by the day.
As a result, it’s probably old news to put Jared Goff on the hot seat ahead of the 2022 season, but that is exactly what some are doing. The quarterback is seeing a ton of pressure put on him by the media already for next year and the offseason hasn’t even been completed yet.
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Things are shaping up to be pressure-packed for Goff this coming season, and the quarterback is already headlining a new list of the quarterbacks that are setting up to be on a strong hot seat for 2022. Bleacher Report writer Kristopher Knox picked out some of the hottest seats at the position around the league for 2022, and as he explained, Goff fits the bill in an obvious way because of where the Lions are at as a franchise.
As Knox wrote, the Lions aren’t giving the vibe that they are ready to move on from Goff as soon as the 2022 draft. Even such, his up and down performance in his career might not lead to the notion that he can be the long-term guy for the team which puts pressure on him to have a much better season in 2022 to stick around in the future. In spite of that, Knox admits that the chance will be there for Goff to rebound and prove himself.
“With an improved supporting cast, he could return to Pro Bowl form. If he doesn’t, though, Detroit will be looking to part with him just as the Rams did—only the Lions won’t have to trade his contract to make it happen,” he wrote in the piece.
The future for Goff seems to be wide-open with the Lions. Either he can lock down the job and look like the solution, or the Lions can ponder moving on as soon as 2023. That puts pressure on Goff to execute rather than the team, so the quarterback may be on the hot seat from that standpoint.
Brad Holmes Has ‘Confidence’ in Goff for 2022
Regardless of any perceived pressure on Goff, the team is making all the right moves in order to build him up this offseason. Not only has the team re-signed plenty of difference makers at wide receiver while adding DJ Chark, general manager Brad Holmes continues to speak positively about Goff which proves he will be given all the chances to make a big impact.
Speaking with the media during the NFL owners meetings in late March, Holmes admitted that he remains confident in his quarterback, especially relative to some of the strengths of Detroit’s roster and what his team could look like.
“Well obviously, the quarterback position is extremely critical to any team’s success so that goes without saying. But again, we have a lot of confidence in Jared,” Holmes told the media.”We’re all about putting him in the best position to succeed and if we do that, our confidence that we have with him and like we talked about, the continuity that we have coming back with not only the receivers but the coaching staff (and) offensive line, we’re very confident in what Jared can do.”
Goff seems to have a lot of things working in his favor, so the only thing he will have to do is find a way to make plays consistently. If he’s able to do that, all bets will be off regarding his seemingly cloudy future in Detroit.
Despite Wild Offseason, Goff Likely to Remain Lions Starter
All of the commentary by the Detroit brass seems to indicate that Goff will be coming back to the team and is poised. to play a huge role, which has long made sense. A few trade rumors were sparked up during the NFL combine, with rumors holding that the Lions could be looking for a first-round pick for Goff on the market if he indeed gets dealt. In spite of this, that seemed like simple conjecture all along given the fact that the Lions seem to be happy with what Goff brings to the mix for them. This offseason, the Lions re-signed both Tim Boyle as well as David Blough, so not much figures to change there and neither will threaten Goff’s hold on the starting gig. Detroit could draft a quarterback, but the Lions aren’t going to start a rookie. The team was never in position to make a big play for any of the big names hit the market in 2022, and though rumors continue to persist about Baker Mayfield, it doesn’t seem that any of that talk is based in legitimacy.
This will set Goff up to be the guy for the Lions in 2022. That could be a pressure scenario, but the team might not have much to worry about, especially after his good finish to last year and the hope it brings for this season.
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