It’s a tale as old as time. When an NFL team struggles, immediate blame goes to the quarterback, regardless of any other context to a team’s overall performance.
And to be fair to some Detroit Lions fans, quarterback Jared Goff didn’t make it any easier on himself with his performance on Christmas Day. With playoff contention on the line, Goff went out against the Minnesota Vikings, turned the ball over five times, took five sacks, and produced just two scoring drives in Detroit’s worst offensive
performance of the year.
As a result, we’ve already seen some fans say they want Goff gone, publications suggest alternate options for the Lions’ quarterback in 2026, and, yeah, even some mock drafts slotting the Lions with an early passer (no, I will not link them).
But Lions coach Dan Campbell did his best to put an end to all of that discussion before it even begins this offseason. During his weekly 97.1 The Ticket appearance, Campbell was asked about Goff’s future in Detroit, and before the radio host could even finish the question, Campbell jumped in with an impassioned defense of Goff.
“Jared Goff is a stud. He’s an absolute stud,” Campbell said. “We’re fortunate to have him as a quarterback. He’s a winning quarterback in this league. He played at a very high level all season long. He played even better than he played the year before, and he’s continued to play better. We’re thankful to have him. I’m thankful to have him. He’s an absolute stud, he’s a pro. He’s going nowhere.”
Statistically, there is certainly an easy case to be made that Goff has been excellent again in 2025. Despite his Week 17 performance, Goff still ranks third in passer rating (107.0)—trailing only MVP candidates Drake Maye (112.9) and Matthew Stafford (108.8). He also remains top-10 in yards per attempt, touchdown passes, interception percentage, completion percentage, success rate, and EPA/dropback.
Whether he’s improved from last year is certainly more debatable:
2024: 390-of-539 (72.4%) for 4,629 yards (8.6 Y/A), 37 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, 111.8 passer rating
2025: 366-of-536 (68.3%) for 4,233 yards (7.9 Y/A), 33 touchdowns, 7 interceptions, 107.0 passer rating
But beyond whether you think Goff is an okay, good, great, or elite quarterback, the talk of moving on from him is nonsensical from a financial standpoint. For a team that is already tight in cap space, trading or cutting a player with nearly $100 million left in guaranteed money on his contract is asking for financial ruin and an even bigger step back in 2026.
Instead, what is far more likely—especially based on Campbell’s comments—is that the Lions will restructure part or most of Goff’s already-guaranteed $55 million salary to spread that cap hit over the next four years, increasing his odds of living out the entirety of his contract through the 2028 season.
