Jared Goff

It doesn't bode well that Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams essentially gave up on quarterback Jared Goff only 19 months after handing him a four-year, $134 million contract extension. It's easy to understand why a Rams team in win-now mode lost patience with a quarterback who posted the 12th-lowest qualified passer rating in the NFL over the last two seasons. 

But let's not get carried away and declare Goff's football career dead. It's entirely possible that a fresh start with the Detroit Lions will serve him well.

Keep in mind that:

1. He won't turn 27 until October. 

2. He was the No. 1 overall pick in the draft only five years ago. 

3. He earned two Pro Bowl nods with a 60-to-19 touchdown-to-interception ratio, a triple-digit passer rating and a 24-7 record in 2017 and 2018. 

McVay's offensive system certainly helped with all of that, but if a guy can deliver to that degree at the age of 23 and 24, he clearly possesses the ability to become something special in the NFL. 

And while optimism almost always dominates the offseason, it isn't a bad thing that it's been hunky dory thus far in Detroit. 

Goff said last month during the team's offseason program that he felt "empowered" by Lions head coach Dan Campbell and offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn. 

"Any time you get a change of scenery, it's always a fresh start, a breath of fresh air," he said at the time. 

He's also received praise from general manager Brad Holmes. 

"He's been a winning quarterback," Holmes told Mike O'Hara of the team's official website in June. "I think his resume speaks for itself."

Back in May, Campbell was impressed by what he saw from Goff during organized team activities. 

"I can tell you this, he throws a pretty ball, that's for sure," he told the media. "I like his command in the huddle. And I would say, he's progressing kind of right where you want at this point."

Lynn, who helped guide Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert to an Offensive Rookie of the Year campaign in 2020, also praised Goff on the Compas on the Beat podcast last week:

"It's been an absolute pleasure to work with Jared. Just giving him some input and watching him grow as a leader on our football team, that's been really cool to see. But he's had some really good practices and hopefully that carries over to training camp and the regular season. But I'm very pleased with what I've seen so far."

Lynn might not have McVay's reputation, but he's one of the most respected offensive minds in the sport, and it looks as though Goff will be well-supported in the years to come in Detroit. 

It's a shame the Lions lost top wide receivers Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones Jr. just as Goff arrived, but they do have one of the sport's brightest young stars at tight end in 24-year-old Pro Bowler T.J. Hockenson. Meanwhile, new wideouts Breshad Perriman and Tyrell Williams aren't nobodies, and the Detroit offensive line looks stacked with rookie No. 7 overall pick Penei Sewell joining steady left tackle Taylor Decker, Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnow and potential standout guards Halapoulivaati Vaitai and Jonah Jackson.

Goff was at his best in L.A. when Pro Football Focus rated the Rams offensive line sixth leaguewide in both 2017 and 2018. It all fell apart when that unit was broken up and fell to 31st in those rankings in 2019.

We've seen that Goff needs a clean pocket to excel, and he should benefit from a lot of those as a Lion. More broadly, the dynamics surrounding him have changed, and that might be just what the doctor ordered.

A horrible performance in Super Bowl LIII at the conclusion of his otherwise promising 2018 season looks like a turning point for Goff. He completed only 50 percent of his passes and posted a sub-60 passer rating while failing to lead a single touchdown drive in that forgettable 13-3 loss to the New England Patriots, and he hasn't been the same since. 

To rediscover the magic that preceded the Super Bowl loss, Goff might have needed a clean break from L.A.

Holmes, who was the director of college scouting for the Rams during Goff's first five seasons, noticed that the California product had a chip on his shoulder after losing all seven of his starts as a rookie in 2016. He believes "that chip is back."

"Having intimate knowledge of what he did go through in L.A., and the conversation we had, I think we're getting him at a good spot," Holmes added, per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.

So, don't count out Jared Goff. Not yet. 

Brad Gagnon has covered the NFL for Bleacher Report since 2012. Follow him on Twitter: @Brad_Gagnon.

Detroit Lions star Jared Goff feels "empowered" as he approaches his first season with his new team.

"I think that's been a healthy relationship and something that's been fun for me to experience and be a part of guys that are really wanting to hear from me and wanting to hear what I like," Goff told reporters Tuesday.

The 26-year-old added that while there were moments when he felt that way with the Los Angeles Rams there were also times where it wasn't like that: "It's a little bit of both."

"It's been really cool and I've had a lot of fun having that ownership and being able to really use my strengths and use my knowledge and use what I know and at the same time continue to learn from these guys," he said of his new team.

Goff alluded to his frustration in Los Angeles in February after the Rams agreed to trade him to Detroit. He told the Los Angeles Times' Sam Farmer he came to feel unwanted by the Rams, which led to him feel equally ambivalent toward the team.

ESPN's Lindsey Thiry detailed how the relationship between Rams head coach Sean McVay and Goff started to show cracks as Goff struggled in 2019 and steadily became more strained in 2020.

"Ultimately, the merger between the Type A, football-hyper personality of McVay and the laid-back Goff didn't work," Thiry wrote.

Naturally it makes sense for Goff to feel better on a new team. The question is how long the honeymoon period will last.

The Lions didn't draft a quarterback-in-waiting, so the two-time Pro Bowler is clearly the No. 1 guy.

But the Lions also didn't do a whole lot to improve their passing game. They signed Breshad Perriman and Tyrell Williams and selected USC wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown in the fourth round.

Goff threw for 3,952 yards, 20 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in 2020, and improving upon those numbers might be difficult with the weapons at his disposal right now.

While he's signed through 2024, the 2016 No. 1 overall pick might effectively be looking at a two-year window in which to prove himself in Detroit.

Come 2023, the Lions would absorb $10 million in dead money but save nearly $20.7 million by cutting Goff, per Spotrac. That $10 million dead cap hit could be spread equally across 2023 and 2024 if he were a post-June 1 cut.

Ryan Tannehill is the obvious model for Goff. Tannehill's value during the 2019 offseason was so low the Miami Dolphins paid a portion of his outstanding compensation to facilitate his trade to the Tennessee Titans. The 32-year-old has since enjoyed a renaissance.

Should Goff fail to improve in Detroit, though, the Lions might reach the same conclusion about his long-term outlook that the Rams did.

Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff said he felt the team not selecting a quarterback in the 2021 NFL draft was a "vote of confidence" in his ability to lead the team. 

"We had some talks before the draft," Goff told reporters Thursday. "Again, I think it's a nice vote of confidence obviously for me. I think what's not lost on me is their first move as a staff, Brad and (coach) Dan (Campbell), involved me. It's exciting, and it makes you feel good."

Justin Fields and Mac Jones were both on the board when Detroit was on the clock with the No. 7 overall pick, but the team instead chose to begin rebuilding from the inside out, selecting offensive tackle Penei Sewell.

Goff liked the Sewell selection for multiple reasons:

"When I saw we took Penei, I know the staff was fired up, and so was I obviously as a quarterback. Any time you get help up front, that's always good. We got a lot of solid guys up there right now, and I think it's shaping up to hopefully be one of the top groups in the league. There's obviously a lot of work to do, and I know they know that. But there's a lot of good players up there right now, and as a quarterback, that's your best friend. So I'm excited for it."

The Lions acquired Goff along with two first-round picks (2022, 2023) and a 2021 third-round selection in exchange for Matthew Stafford in March. The deal was seen as both an attempted upgrade at quarterback and a salary dump for the Rams, who quickly grew to regret the four-year, $134 million contract extension Goff signed in 2019.

After making the Pro Bowl in 2017 and 2018, Goff regressed and became more mistake-prone over the last two seasons. He threw for 3,952 yards and 20 touchdowns against 13 interceptions in 2020, ranking 23rd among starters in QBR (58.5) and 22nd in Football Outsiders' DVOA metric.

While Goff is a starter-worthy NFL quarterback, he's been below-average among starters for the last two seasons and the Rams feel they have a Super Bowl-quality roster with Stafford. 

It's unlikely the Lions see Goff as their long-term starter even though he'll enter the 2021 season as their unquestioned top option at the position. The Lions' rebuild is expected to take multiple years, and it'd be fair to call Goff something of a placeholder until the team finds a better option.

Only Goff's own play could change perception and stretch the "vote of confidence" beyond the 2021 season. 

The Detroit Lions had little trouble replacing Matthew Stafford with Jared Goff this offseason when the longtime signal-caller requested a trade, and they decided to move forward with Goff by passing on a quarterback in the draft.

But that wasn't necessarily the plan. Oregon offensive tackle Penei Sewell was the team's pick at No. 7, but general manager Brad Holmes said the team would have looked at quarterbacks had the star not fallen to them.

"If there was a quarterback that was just like graded way higher over Penei we would have had to strongly consider that," Holmes said, per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. "But it unfortunately for our sakes, it wasn't—Penei was the highest-rated guy when we took him."

They also signed Tim Boyle, who appeared in 11 games with the Green Bay Packers across the last two seasons, in free agency. 

Goff, who turns 27 in October, is headed to Detroit off of five years with the Los Angeles Rams, who drafted him with the No. 1 overall pick in 2016. The two-time Pro Bowler threw for 3,952 yards and 20 touchdowns last season with 13 interceptions, making his third consecutive season with at least 12 picks. 

The Lions haven't drafted a quarterback since 2017, when they selected Brad Kaaya out of Miami in the sixth round. 

Sewell is still a solid pick for a team that already boasted one of the stronger offensive lines in the league. The 2019 Outlander Trophy winner as the top offensive lineman in the country. Sewell—who is the youngest player to be drafted by the Lions in franchise history—will likely start at right tackle, where he reportedly began training in the weeks leading up to the draft, per Brandon Judd of the Deseret News. 

"He's just a transcendent talent. I can't remember a guy with feet like him in a long time," Holmes told reporters. "It's not just athletic ability; he's got the toughness that we're looking for. He comes from a football family, his dad's a coach, and his brothers are college football players. We love the make up, and we couldn't be more jacked about landing Penei." 

At times in 2020, it seemed like quarterback Jared Goff and head coach Sean McVay were on different pages, and a new report sheds light on how bad things got behind the scenes for the Los Angeles Rams over the past two seasons.

Per ESPN's Lindsey Thiry, a postgame locker-room incident in front of other Rams players and coaches after a Week 12 loss to the San Francisco 49ers stood out:

"McVay glared in Goff's direction, shouting that he needed to play better and couldn't continue to turn the ball over. McVay didn't say the quarterback's name, but those who were there said they knew to whom McVay was talking.

"Minutes later, a heated McVay continued to call out Goff, but this time to reporters, the first time in four seasons as coach he took aim at a player rather than putting the blame on himself after a loss."

McVay said during his postgame press conference that Goff "has to take better care of the football."

According to Thiry, who spoke with "more than two dozen sources, including Rams players, coaches and front-office personnel," the issues between Goff and McVay began in 2019. 

The Rams were coming off a 2018 Super Bowl appearance, and Goff made his second straight Pro Bowl. Expectations were high for the organization, but a series of issues caused the team to miss the playoffs with a 9-7 record. 

Goff threw for 4,638 yards in 2019 but also threw just 22 touchdowns with 16 interceptions on an NFL-high 626 attempts. 

One issue was his inability to recognize certain coverages and take advantage of openings down the field: 

"Goff struggled to recognize coverage disguises and didn't consistently identify coverage post snap as the play developed. When a defense ran Cover 0 with no safeties deep, his decision-making process often didn't happen quickly enough to hit the big play.

"'As a quarterback, you can't lose games,' a team source said. 'We just needed him to manage it and do his part.'"

Thiry also pointed to the Rams' Week 8 loss last season against the Miami Dolphins when Goff went 35-of-61 for 355 yards and one touchdown but committed four turnovers: 

"In the aftermath, McVay remained convinced the game plan should have worked, while Goff thought differently, a team source said.

"Throughout the building, tension rose in regard to McVay's handling of Goff, whom some thought the coach did not hold accountable like others.

"'We get our ass chewed out for f--kups,' a team source said. 'But the stuff with the quarterback gets swept under the rug.'"

Thiry noted that McVay "would routinely yell" at Goff, "but some noticed there came a point when McVay wouldn't circle back to apologize."

One source told Thiry that McVay seemed to become "unaware or disinterested in protecting Jared's confidence" at some point in 2020. 

When Goff had to miss the final game of the regular season after breaking his thumb in a Week 16 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, McVay inserted undrafted free agent John Wolford as his quarterback. 

Wolford didn't play great in Week 17 against the Arizona Cardinals—he finished 22-of-38 for 231 yards with one interception and ran for 56 yards on six carries—but "the energy around the practice facility shifted when Wolford took over."

A source told Thiry that Wolford gave the Rams a chance to "breathe some life into the offense with his athleticism, intelligence."

Wolford was injured early in the Rams' game in the Wild Card Round against the Seattle Seahawks. Goff took over and finished 9-of-19 for 155 yards and one touchdown just two weeks after having surgery on his thumb. 

The Rams beat their NFC West rival 30-20 in large part because the defense sacked Russell Wilson five times and forced two turnovers. 

Goff didn't fare much better in the NFC Divisional Round against the Green Bay Packers. He threw for 174 yards and one touchdown, and Los Angeles' season ended with a 32-18 loss. 

Two weeks after that defeat, the Rams acquired Matthew Stafford from the Detroit Lions for Goff, a 2021 third-round draft pick and first-round draft picks in 2022 and 2023. 

After the deal was agreed upon, Goff seemed to throw shade at the Rams when asked about the move to Detroit by NFL.com's Michael Silver. 

"I'm just excited to be somewhere that I know wants me and appreciates me," Goff said. "I'm moving forward and couldn't be more excited to build a winner there. I'm excited about Dan [Campbell] and the whole staff."

The Rams and Lions announced the trade March 18. It ended a relationship between Goff and McVay that had tremendous success over the past four seasons. They made three playoff appearances, won the NFC West twice and played in Super Bowl LIII. 

Goff, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft, will attempt to reestablish himself with a rebuilding Lions organization. 

Based on the price the Rams paid to get Stafford, McVay should be able to run the offense he wants at the level he expects in 2021.