I got to tell you, in my 10 years of covering the Detroit Lions, I’ve seen some real crazy takes coming down the pike. This one has to be the craziest of them all. TWSN writer Marrisa Myers has a suggestion for who should be the Lions starting quarterback in 2025.
It’s not Jared Goff, who the team just made one of the highest paid players in the NFL just a few weeks ago. It’s not backup Hendon Hooker either. It’s Steelers backup and former Bears quarterback Justin Fields. Here’s her thought process:
“Goff has been a good quarterback, but he is more of the traditional pocket passer. His level of play takes a dip when he is pressured as he doesn’t necessarily have the mobility to maneuver around in the pocket at a high level. This has hindered the Detroit offense pretty frequently over the past few years.
Again, too, Goff will be 30, and for the Lions to keep their recent string of success going, they need to get a young quarterback under center that will lead the team for the foreseeable future. The quarterback that will have the most success in doing so will come from free agency in Justin Fields.”
I…I just don’t know what to do here. Goff’s play has hindered the Lions offense, yet the team was second in passing yards and fifth in passing touchdowns in 2023. An improvement over being sixth in passing yards in and eighth in passing touchdowns in 2022. Seems like the offense is doing just fine. The offense itself was third in total yards and fifth in total points.
There is no doubt that Goff struggles with pressure like every quarterback does, but he still manages to make plays and rack up numbers. Fields, on the other hand, is still looking for his first 3,000 yard passing season and has never thrown for more than 17 touchdowns in a season. It’s going to be hard for him to do that from the bench in Pittsburgh.
Fields also struggles mightily with turnovers and getting sacked. Something Myers is suggesting that Goff has issues with. Justin Fields has played 41 games in his career and he has 40 career turnovers. He’s also been sacked 135 times in his career. A lot of which came from him holding onto the ball for too long.
Sure, Fields can run the ball and he can run it well. But it takes more than that ability to be a good quarterback. Lamar Jackson can run, but he can also throw. Same goes for Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen.
Fields may get another shot someday, but he’s got a long road back after failing out in Chicago and getting traded for a future conditional sixth-round pick.
Once again, the Lions just made Jared Goff one of the highest paid players in the league. They didn’t do that because he’s cool hang and they want him to just be around for a few years. They did that because he’s proven to be one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL for multiple years now and he’s going to be their starter for the foreseeable future. Justin Fields has done all the opposite things and that’s why he’s a backup quarterback for the Steelers now.