Getty Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell walk on the field during Lions training camp in 2021.
The Detroit Lions are poised to roll into the 2022 season in another month with Jared Goff at quarterback, but that hasn’t stopped the rumor mill from churning.
Jimmy Garoppolo needs a new home for the 2022 season, and folks want to see that home be in Detroit. That’s in spite of the fact that the Lions already have a quarterback similar to Garoppolo in a lot of ways in Jared Goff.
According to Bleacher Report and writer Alex Kay, the Lions were listed as a “brand new landing spot” for Garoppolo. As he wrote in the piece, Garoppolo would “represent a major upgrade” for the team at quarterback, given the way the Lions are rebuilding and who is on the roster at the position now.
Kay wrote that Detroit’s “one glaring hole is under center,” even as the team has reshaped things around Goff to try and put him in a better position this season to win games.
“Goff went just 3-10-1 in the Motor City and does not appear to be the long-term fix for the Lions’ QB woes,” Kay wrote in the piece.
Be that as it may, the Lions may ultimately decide they like Goff more and ignore the folks calling for a quick deal for another player. The Lions didn’t make the deal for Baker Mayfield, and ignored adding a quarterback in the 2022 NFL draft as well.
That points to the fact that their starter is likely figured out, which likely closes the door to such a deal. Still, that does not prevent folks like Kay from liking Garoppolo’s possible fit in Detroit.
Garoppolo’s Career Stats & Highlights
When he first came into the league in 2014 as a second-round pick out of Northern Illinois, Garoppolo had to wait to see time as a starter,
The quarterback was Tom Brady’s backup with the New England Patriots, and as a result, didn’t see much action at all. With the Patriots, Garoppolo claimed rings in Super Bowl 49 as well as Super Bowl 51.
A trade sent Garoppolo west to San Francisco in 2017, and he has enjoyed success as a starter there since. Garoppolo has put up 11,852 passing yards in the NFL to go with 71 passing touchdowns and 5 rushing touchdowns. He has a 4-2 playoff record in his career including a pair of defeats of Green Bay, and played in Super Bowl 54 with San Francisco.
In 2022, he narrowly lost the NFC Championship. In 2021, he started the season with a big win over Detroit:
Garoppolo has been the starter, but could be riding second fiddle to Trey Lance. If the 49ers move him, Lance could indeed ascend to the starting role.
Garoppolo Trade to Lions Very Unlikely
Despite the fact that the media keeps beating the drum for Garoppolo to join the Lions via trade, the likelihood of a deal playing out remains very slim at this point in time.
Heading into the 2022 season, the Lions like where Goff is at with the team. It doesn’t seem they would want to blow things up with a quarterback they have put their trust into like Goff ahead of a new season. Even if a deal was made, Goff would still be likely to start. Garoppolo himself isn’t going to want to be a backup, so there is little chance of him having a roster inroad with the Lions now.
Given such a situation, there is little chance of the Lions coughing up a draft asset for a crowded roster position.
The Lions seem to genuinely love Goff’s potential for the team in 2022, and the quarterback is sounding confident and ready to attack a new year in the Motor City with more weaponry. Detroit is poised to let Goff see what he can do in 2022. Come the offseason, the team may decide on adding another quarterback depending on what plays out.
Right now, Garoppolo can look like a slam-dunk fit to the outside world, but reality indicates the team feels likely to hold firm with who they’ve got under center.
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