Last season, the Detroit Lions bounced back after a very poor start by winning eight of their last 10 games and coming to within a fingernail of a playoff spot.
The play of quarterback Jared Goff was a big reason for Detroit’s turnaround and the high expectations that surround the team for this season.
He has two years left on his current contract, and he is currently engaged in talks for a contract extension.
GM Brad Holmes gave a positive update on those talks.
Lions, Jared Goff have had “good dialogue” on contract extension. https://t.co/04Lx0zLIRU
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) September 1, 2023
“We’ve kept open dialogue with their agents in camp and I think the transparency has been good, so we’ll see how it goes,” Holmes said, per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press via ProFootballTalk.
When the Lions acquired Goff in the trade that sent Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams, not a whole lot was expected of him.
At the time, he was seen as a mid-tier quarterback who wasn’t quite good enough to elevate his team above the pack, although he did manage to take the Rams to the Super Bowl during the 2018 season.
But he turned in one of his best seasons in 2022 by throwing for 4,438 yards and 29 touchdowns while guiding an offense that finished fifth in points scored and fourth in total yards.
For this season, the Lions have high hopes for Jameson Williams, an incoming second-year wide receiver who barely played last year but put up outstanding numbers in 2021 while at the University of Alabama.
Their defense does need improvement, and they shouldn’t make plans to head to the Las Vegas area for Super Bowl LVIII, but a playoff berth and NFC North title seem very likely.
