Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff sure doesn’t seem too concerned about the potential for the team to select another QB in the 2022 NFL draft. Goff was unflappable when asked if he’d be upset if the Lions brought in competition or asked him to be a mentor to his eventual successor as the starter.
“No, whatever it is I trust those guys (GM Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell),” Goff said this week. “They’ve expressed a lot of confidence in me and about where I’m at, where I’m at with them, and where we’re headed. I’m excited about it. But if anything were to happen there, no concern. I trust the guys upstairs.”
There has been considerable speculation about the Lions drafting a quarterback to groom under Goff. Liberty’s Malik Willis, Sam Howell from North Carolina and Cincinnati’s Desmond Ridder are the usual suspects. Goff didn’t bristle at all when prodded about if he’d embrace being a mentor.
“I don’t know. I think yeah, maybe,” Goff said. “I’ve always liked helping younger guys.”
That’s a very different reaction than what Matthew Stafford provided when the team approached him about being a mentor for a young QB. Stafford wanted nothing to do with that concept, which was one of the reasons the Lions drafted just two quarterbacks in Stafford’s 12 seasons in Detroit: Jake Rudock (6th round 2016) and Brad Kaaya (6th round 2017).
The Lions currently have Tim Boyle and David Blough behind Goff. Both were unrestricted free agents who the team brought back quickly, indicating at least some level of real dedication in the free agency process.
