Lions GM addresses Jared Goff extension negotiations

Jared Goff remains a key financial priority for the Lions, but no new deal exists for the team’s franchise passer. When speaking about the status of contract talks Thursday, general manager Brad Holmes expressed confidence an agreement would be reached.

“First and foremost, he’s earned an extension,” Holmes said during an appearance on WXYT-FM (via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press). “It’s important, it’s a high priority for us and both sides are working really, really hard and these things just take time.”

As Goff confirmed last month, talks on an extension are ongoing. Detroit worked out mega-deals with a pair of offensive cornerstones by inking wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown and right tackle Penei Sewell to extensions. A Goff agreement has not followed, though, and a recent report on the latter front indicated team and player are not close on contract talks. Holmes admitted it would have been ideal to have a Goff deal in place by now, but he added the financial implications of one have been budgeted for.

“The whole process of budgeting and preparation and all that, that kind of goes into it, we’ve been preparing for a while,” Holmes said. “And look, in a perfect world, we’d have had all three of them done, bang, bang, bang, but these things just kind of take a while, especially with the quarterback market. But I do have faith that it’s going to get done.”

Four quarterbacks reached the $50M-per-year mark last offseason (Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts). Any or all of Dak Prescott, Trevor Lawrence and Tua Tagovailoa could join that group in the near future. At 29, though, Goff’s age represents a complicating factor; his next deal will not be an extension coming off his rookie contract (as is the case for most ascending passers).

As things stand, Goff is due $27.3M in 2024 and his cap hit is $32.3M. The former figure will be much higher on a new pact, while the latter could be lowered depending on the structure of the agreement. In any case, the former Rams No. 1 pick clearly remains his second team’s projected starter for years to come despite the presence of Hendon Hooker as a potential successor. With the draft in the books and the St. Brown and Sewell extensions finalized, Detroit’s attention for the remainder of the offseason can turn squarely to the Goff front.