Jared Goff’s name popped up in headlines Tuesday when his head coach, Dan Campbell, said Goff is better now than he was with the Los Angeles Rams. Not the hottest take, but one that still got people talking.
Campbell cited that Goff is asked to do more with the Lions than he was with the Rams, which again, isn’t necessarily a shocking assessment. He had way more help in L.A. and is still playing better in Detroit.
Goff agreed with Campbell’s statement, and Sean McVay essentially did, too. Reporters asked McVay about Campbell’s comments Tuesday and asked whether he feels the same way about Goff’s improvement.
“I think Jared’s played at a really high level. I’ll tell you what, though, when you watch what he did last year, he played great,” McVay said. “And I think because he’s so conscientious, repetition is the mother of learning. The more you play, the more you learn. You can really see he’s able to get through progressions quickly. They were asking a lot of him. He got a lot of different guys involved, took great care of the football, and so I think he’s only gotten better. He played really good football here for us, really grateful for those things. But I was really impressed with just the way that he led and the way that he ended up demonstrating a lot of the things that we want to embody, that mental toughness. I think he was like 29-7 in terms of touchdowns, interceptions, one of the better ratios, and threw for a bunch of yards and they were one of the top offenses. I was really happy to see how well he did. I think that’s probably a fair assessment because he’s only getting better.”
McVay may have dumped Goff in 2021 when the Rams traded him for Matthew Stafford, but he thought highly of Goff, the first overall pick in the 2016 draft. The Rams wouldn’t have given him that massive extension in 2019 if McVay hadn’t been on board with committing to Goff long-term.
That’s what made this question a little tricky for the Rams coach. Some may try to twist his praise of Goff as him admitting the Rams made a mistake by trading him in 2021. But if McVay denies Goff’s improvement, it comes across as him downplaying a former player’s growth.
Here’s the thing: McVay can admit Goff has improved and still feel great about the trade L.A. made in 2021. Both can be true, and both are. The trade was a rare win-win for the Rams and Lions, and Goff is a big reason for that; he’s given Detroit a young quarterback to build around, which they’ve done.
McVay’s response to the question was perfectly reasonable and shows he still paid attention to how well Goff played in 2022.
