The Detroit Lions move to deal Matthew Stafford and acquire Jared Goff has made waves in the NFL community, with nearly everyone having an opinion about what the deal could mean for both teams moving forward.
In the case of the Los Angeles Rams, many see the Super Bowl as the end goal with Stafford. Much less has been said about Goff as he transitions to the Lions, but it’s clear that many see the chance for Goff to do some big things with his new team as well.
Recently, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press sat down with Nate Burleson of the NFL Network show Good Morning Football to chat about the team, and naturally, the Stafford trade came up. According to Burleson, he thinks the move to add a young quarterback takes Detroit out of the draft running for such a player temporarily thanks to what Goff can bring to the table.
Burleson said:
“I don’t think they need to draft a quarterback this year. I think this year is the ultimate year of figuring out what Goff is made of. I believe he does have an opportunity to be the long-term quarterback. You don’t get paid $100 million and take your team to the Super Bowl if you’re not a legit starting quarterback in this league. That stuff doesn’t happen by dumb luck. You’ve got to give credit to the playmakers, Todd Gurley was a big part of their success offensively, they got some wide receivers and of course the genius of Sean McVay. So you’re going to have to put together an offensive staff that can create an offensive game plan week in and week out that is based on the skill-set of Jared Goff.”
Goff will be presented with a great opportunity to command the team and make it his, and certainly, the Lions could benefit by the move to deal for him given all the other holes they have on their roster at this point in time on offense and defense. Filling some of those could be the goal for the Lions as they look to develop Goff.
Burleson has been around enough to know that Goff has a shot at being a big-time solution for the Lions.
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Jared Goff Has Major Opportunity With Lions
Not only can Goff prove some of his own doubters wrong, but he can take the next steps forward in his own career with a solid showing once he gets to Detroit. At 26, Goff has already accomplished more than most Lions quarterbacks with a 6-5 playoff record, a Super Bowl appearance and an NFC Championship game victory.
Following Stafford won’t be an easy task given how dependable and reliable the quarterback was during his time in the Motor City, but given the Rams wanted to dump Goff and how badly the Lions wanted to pick him up, there seems to be a chance for him to flip the script here and perhaps become one of the more accomplished Detroit quarterbacks in terms of wins ever.
Many think the Lions should still look to drafting a quarterback and they can certainly look for help at the spot in this draft and future drafts. Even such, it’s hard to ignore Goff’s presence under center given what he’s already done in the NFL. That’s something Burleson would likely agree with.
What Lions Get With Jared Goff
Detroit isn’t just getting a pair of first-round draft picks and a third-round pick, they are getting a quarterback who was in the Super Bowl just two years ago. Goff, a former top pick himself in 2016 out of Cal, has been a dependable player who has won plenty of big games in his career in the rough and tumble NFC West. So far, he’s thrown 107 touchdowns, 55 interceptions, 18,171 yards and has been a two-time Pro Bowler in 2017 and 2018.
Obviously, Goff has had a better defense to work with than Stafford, which has obviously helped him big time. Still, it’s hard to ignore some of the impressive wins he has been able to put together. Just this postseason, the Rams won a huge road game against the Seattle Seahawks in which Goff was pressed into duty with a thumb injury and delivered a solid performance when the team needed him the most.
Clearly, the Lions are getting a motivated Goff to help lead in their revival, and that could be huge for the team moving forward.
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Former Lions Wideout Makes Strong Prediction About Jared Goff