Getty Jared Goff and Kalif Raymond celebrate after a score in 2021.
The Detroit Lions are hoping for a big season out of quarterback Jared Goff and thus far, the early returns on that seem to be very good.
Goff has been impressive thus far in the offseason program and has drawn some praise from coaches and players alike. One of the players who was quick to laud him was wideout Kalif Raymond.
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Raymond was around Goff all of 2021, and when speaking with the media on Thursday, June 9 after practice, he admitted it’s great to see all of his hard work on the field paying off in a big way for the player as well as the Lions. It’s something Raymond is very excited about ahead of this season.
“I’m just so excited to see (Jared Goff) man. He’s diming it right now, so it’s cool,” Raymond told the media. “I’ve been saying this a lot. It’s just cool (to) brush shoulders with greatness so I’m just here enjoying the process and watching him. Honestly, what’s happening now is he’s always been a hard worker and we’re just getting to see it right now because he works his butt off. There’s a lot of stuff that happens behind the scenes that nobody sees about how hard he’s working and honestly (that) goes for all the quarterbacks.
As Raymond joked, he tries to be the first one in the Lions’ facility, but Goff and the quarterbacks always seem to have him beat.
“Every time I try to come in the building and try to be the first one in the last one to leave, I cannot beat those guys. I don’t know what they’re doing. I don’t know (if) they got a bed here or what, but I can’t beat them. Those dudes work their butts off so it’s just cool to see it happening,” Raymond said with a laugh.
Goff being good would be a big bonus to the Lions this season, so it’s great to hear Raymond joining the early chorus singing his praises at this point in time. The quarterback room is sounding locked-in ahead of the 2022 season.
Raymond Feels Blessed With Own Lions’ Experience
It isn’t a stretch to say Raymond works just as hard with the Lions. He’s been a player who has been on the grind since the day he was signed by the team, and it’s something which he doesn’t take for granted at this point of his career. As he revealed, now, the goal is about finding a way to improve steadily.
“I was blessed to have obviously more opportunities, but also more experience and (with) more film comes more critique as well,” Raymond said. I know there is a lot of stuff that I can improve on my game. (I can say) I’m good here but where can I be better? Thankfully I got a long tape to study myself to be able to say ‘hey, you know what, here’s what I need to improve’ so (that’s) definitely what I’m working on.”
At this point, Raymond said he feels blessed to be able to have more time and more of a chance to make an impression on the field. Along with this comes the shot at some great self-scouting, which he has done.
“It’s been a long journey up to this point but obviously, with that journey comes a lot of experience and learning myself. Learning what I’m good at, what I’m not good at, what I could be better (at) so I just tell myself as long as each year I improve and whatever cons I had the year before, (make sure they’re) not the same the next year (so) I can just keep going up,” he said.
It won’t be a surprise to see Raymond chase this goal down and catch it in Detroit this year. He’s already taking on the look of a hungry player that wants to stick around fueled mostly by his own mindset as well as hard work.
Raymond’s Career Stats & Highlights
The Lions added an intriguing player to the mix in Raymond last offseason as someone who can impact the game multiple ways. Raymond hadn’t had a major impact on the offense given his 369 yards and 19 career receptions prior to last year. Raymond did have 1,549 yards in the return game, and though he was an undrafted free agent out of Holy Cross in 2016, he played with the Denver Broncos, New York Jets, New York Giants, Tennessee Titans, Giants and then Titans once again before signing with Detroit
from the start, it always figured that Raymond would figure to get his first crack at the receiving job, and given the fact that he has shown 4.3 speed as well as explosion as a deep threat, the chances of him making an impact seemed great for the team in year one with the Lions, and he was able to make it happen on the field with 576 yards and 4 touchdowns to his credit.
Here’s a look at some of his best plays last year:
Raymond has managed to bring big plays and speed consistently, which helped the Lions in a big way. He has chemistry to rely on with Goff, which should make for an exciting year with the duo.
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