It feels like a foregone conclusion Jared Goff will not be back in Detroit next season, but where could the Lions quarterback end up in 2023?
Through a season-and-a-half, Jared Goff has been exactly what was expected as the Detroit Lions quarterback. It had gotten to a point during his time with the Los Angeles Rams where the talent level there couldn’t elevate him anymore, so as the Lions started a rebuild he would only be further exposed.
There have been stretches of very good play from Goff as the Lions’ signal caller, late last season (107.1 passer rating over his final five starts) and through the first four games this season (11 touchdowns, three interceptions). But inevitable regression has come, and the Lions have scored 15 or less points in three of their last four games.
In search of cap space in a cap-surpressed 2021, the Lions restructured Goff’s contract after acquiring him in the Matthew Stafford trade. That move married them to him for this year, for better or worse.
But looking to the offseason, the Lions can cut Goff and clear $20.65 million in cap space with a $10 million dead money hit that should be palatable (via Over The Cap).
The question of course is who the Lions would replace Goff with in 2023? A rookie? A veteran free agent? A trade for someone? Some combination of a rookie and a veteran?
Spencer Raxter and Neil Ruhl of Woodward Sports addressed the idea of moving on from Goff next season, with Raxter expressing the sentiment of a lot of Lions’ fans–a rookie probably can’t be any worse than Goff, and a least said rookie might be mobile and able to extend plays.
Let’s go all the way to the Lions parting ways with Goff in the offseason, with a trade a remote and naturally unlikely possibility.
Where might Goff land in 2023?