It’s time for a good old-fashioned performance review for Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff, and maybe a little bit of remembrance, too.

Goff signed his four-year, $212 million extension with the Lions in May 2024. We’re now far enough down the road to ask a simple question. Did this deal actually work out for Detroit?

I think you already know the answer. Let’s get into it anyway.

The tweet that started it

Go back to the 2023 season, when the Lions made it to the NFC Championship Game. On the night of the wild card win over the Los Angeles Rams, Detroit’s first playoff win since 1991, I drove back to my hotel in Troy. I hadn’t quite moved to Detroit yet, but I was at the game covering it.

I sat down in the hotel room that night and put out a tweet:

“If you don’t think Jared Goff is about to be one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the league, you’re crazy.”

That wasn’t a popular opinion at the time. I heard it all season. A lot of Lions fans did not want to pay Goff. They just didn’t. Don’t let some of them fool you now when they say they always wanted to. There was still hope that Detroit would find its franchise quarterback in the draft or some other way.

Then the Lions got the deal done. Goff’s extension came with $170 million guaranteed and an average annual value of $53 million. It was a huge deal.

Goff’s numbers since signing the extension

For starters, Goff has played in 39 of 39 games since he signed. Availability matters, and he’s been there every single week.

Here’s where he ranks among all quarterbacks over that stretch:

• 10,678 passing yards (first)
• 83 passing touchdowns (first)
• 911 completions (first)
• 1,308 pass attempts (third)
• 273.8 passing yards per game (first)
• 69.6% completion percentage (third)
• 108.9 passer rating (second)
• 8.16 yards per attempt (third)
• 6.35% touchdown percentage (third)

He’s also thrown the 11th-fewest interceptions. On top of that, he owns the fourth-lowest interception percentage and the third-best touchdown-to-interception ratio.

Those are just the counting stats. If you like to get a little more advanced, the picture still holds up. Since the extension, Goff is first in total passing EPA, second in EPA per dropback, and eighth in completion percentage over expected. He has the fifth-fastest average time to throw.

He’s been pressured the 23rd-fewest times, and his 33.8% pressure rate is the 12th-lowest in the league. He’s also taken the 16th-fewest sacks and has the 10th-lowest pressure-to-sack rate.

Remember, a lot of that came last season. Goff was dealing with a banged-up offensive line and no Frank Ragnow. He still went out and did big things.

This season, he’s Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded passer with an 86.1 passing grade.

I don’t know what to tell you. He’s getting it done.

What comes next for Goff and the Lions?

Based on this performance review, Detroit should hold on to him. That being said, the Lions are coming up on a crossroads after this season.

Goff is playing the best football of his career right now. At the same time, the upcoming draft looks like it will be the deepest quarterback class we’ve seen in a very long time. Conventional wisdom says the Lions should maybe get involved because Goff is getting older.

Goff is under contract through the 2028 season. His cap hit is set to jump to $62.6 million in 2027 and $69.6 million in 2028, so I’d imagine the Lions will do some sort of restructure or extension at some point.

At this point, I could see Goff as the Lions’ quarterback through 2029 or 2030. If Detroit does go get a young quarterback, it can sit him on the bench for a while. That’s what happened with Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers.

That’s a conversation for the spring. For now, the verdict on the extension is pretty clear. This was a good deal for Detroit, and it has been well worth it.

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