Amon-Ra St. Brown wants to beat the Rams for Jared Goff
The Rams traded up in the 2016 draft for the top spot. They took quarterback Jared Goff.
It worked, until it didn't. The offense was historic in 2018. They went to the Super Bowl. But Goff missed a wide-open Brandin Cooks, twice on the same play, for what would have been easy touchdowns in what was a 13-3 loss.
After the season, some said the Rams shouldn't give Goff a monster deal. Coach Sean McVay scoffed at that. The Rams gave Goff top-of-market value.
And, exactly two seasons later, they couldn't wait to get rid of him. They eventually found a way to unload Goff and to offload his massive contract, discreetly tucking an extra first-round pick into the deal that got Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford for a one and a three.
The two teams crossed paths in 2021 in L.A. The Rams won. Now, for the first time ever, Goff welcomes the Lions to Detroit. In a win-or-go-home setting.
Goff has spoken about the chip on his shoulder from what happened with the Rams. But he was ultimately tactful about getting drafted and then re-signed and then unceremoniously dumped by McVay.
Goff's teammates know what it means to him to get a shot at the Rams.
"If you asked me personally, I definitely want to win it for him," St. Brown said this week regarding Goff. "But I know, I mean, he might not tell the media or what. But I think it's within every player. You come from a team that — first-round pick, went to the Super Bowl and then gets traded, if you ask anyone, they're going to feel some type of way.
"For me, I want to go win it for him. It fires me up that he's playing his old team. I'm excited for him. And, shoot, I want to do it for him as much as I do for the whole team."
The time comes tonight. Will Goff get his vengeance? Or will McVay find validation. Beyond, you know, the Super Bowl he already won with Stafford.
