Detroit Lions would be fools to move off of Jared Goff in 2023

There has been a bit of discussion if the Detroit Lions should pivot from Jared Goff in 2023, but that would be the wrong decision.  Financially, the Lions can save themselves quite a bit of money on their 2023 cap number by doing so.

Whether they’d cut him or trade him as a post-June 1st designation, they could save over $25 million on their 2023 cap number, which would be an insane amount of savings.  The Lions are also projected to have around $6 million in cap space in 2023, which isn’t a lot.

However, Jared Goff and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson have this Lions’ offense humming, and there is absolutely no reason why Goff should be anywhere but in a Lions’ uniform in 2023.  When the Rams traded for Matthew Stafford, the Lions had no choice but to take Goff back in the deal.

I don’t think at the time, the Lions particularly wanted to trade for Jared Goff, but rather wanted to do right by Stafford.  However, since arriving in Detroit, Goff has completely flipped his career around and looks like a top-10 quarterback.

Coming into the matchup with the Minnesota Vikings, Goff has thrown 19 touchdowns on seven interceptions and has earned a passer rating of 95.7.

His last two years as a Ram weren’t that great and many thought he was about done, but his first two years with the Detroit Lions have been encouraging.  The Lions’ offense is averaging 26.3 points per game which ranks 6th in the NFL.

The main issue with the Lions, to me, is their defense, which is just about the worst in the NFL.  They have the 32nd-ranked scoring defense which is a huge area of need.  What they should do is try to restructure some of their current contracts and go heavy on defense in free agency and the draft.

Their offense is playing at a high level and Goff is in the driver’s seat of that ride.  Cutting ties with time would be a monumentally stupid mistake.