Detroit Lions 'in alignment' on Jared Goff's future; upcoming bonus no deadline for new deal
INDIANAPOLIS — Jared Goff has a $5 million roster bonus due in two weeks, but Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes said that payment has no bearing on the team's timeline for striking a new deal with its quarterback.
"We haven’t really weighed that into any of our decision making," Holmes said Tuesday at the NFL combine. "We’re in alignment in the direction that we want to proceed and again, like I told you before, once we have updates we’ll make sure you guys get it."
The Lions are expected to sign Goff to a long-term contract extension this offseason, a deal CBS analyst Boomer Esiason predicted could settle in the neighborhood of four years and $200 million.
IF YOU COULD GO BACK: Dan Campbell says he only has one regret from Lions NFC championship loss
Goff has one year remaining on his current contract and is scheduled to make $27.9 million next season, including a $5 million roster bonus due at the start of the 2024 league year.
Goff said in January he hoped to sign a long-term deal to stay in Detroit.
"I’ve loved every second of my time here and would love more," he said. "It would great, but it’s not up to me."
In three seasons with the Lions, Goff has thrown for more than 12,000 yards and completed 66.5% of his passes while amassing a 24-23-1 record as starter. He's coming off one of the best seasons of his career, when he helped the Lions reach the NFC championship game, where they lost to the San Francisco 49ers to fall just short of the Super Bowl.
MORE FROM CAMPBELL: Ben Johnson 'more than qualified' to be head coach
If Goff lands a contract worth $200 million over four years, he'll join Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts as the only quarterbacks to sign deals that average at least $50 million per season. Patrick Mahomes also restructured part of his contract last fall to guarantee him $210 million over four years.
The Lions have signed two players to extensions in recent weeks, special teams ace Jalen Reeves-Maybin and kicker Michael Badgley, and also are expected to approach Amon-Ra St. Brown about a new contract this offseason.
MOCK DRAFT 1.0: Lions get help for secondary; how high will J.J. McCarthy go?
Holmes wouldn't say Tuesday whether he hoped to re-sign any more players before the start of free agency, but the Lions have made it clear Goff is in their long-term plans.
"I've said this before, to me Jared Goff is a winning quarterback," Lions coach Dan Campbell said. "You can win in this league with that guy, and you can’t say that for a lot of guys. So I'm glad that he’s here, I’m glad he’s ours, and you could argue he’s grown more than a lot of players we’ve had. People maybe don’t always see that, but he really has, man. For a guy who’s been in this league a little bit but has continued to improve, it’s a credit to him."
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions 'in alignment' on Jared Goff's future, contract status
