Brad Holmes and the Lions remain open to drafting a quarterback this April, perhaps in one of the first few rounds. They're just not trying to replace Jared Goff.
They're trying to enhance the quarterback behind him and improve the room as a whole.
"We are in a unique position with all the picks that we have to add maybe a pretty talented guy, if we go that direction," Holmes said Monday at the NFL owners meetings. "But again, it doesn’t have to be first round, doesn’t have to be second round, it can be at any point. I just feel like we’re in a good place right now. But we just keep the communication open so that if we were to go that direction and add one, Jared is aware of exactly what we’re doing."
Holmes has been steadfast in his commitment to Goff from the moment they both arrived from the Rams. And after Goff played like one of the best QB's in the NFL last season, Holmes has made it clear the three-time Pro Bowler is the Lions' starter moving forward.
While this could clash with Detroit's interest in adding a quarterback via the draft, Holmes said he was clear about the team's plans to Goff at the end of last season.
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"The whole thing about that is transparency and communication," he said. "I communicated with Jared at the end of the season, just like I told you guys at the combine, about, yeah, we got Jared, but we didn’t have anything behind him. So just letting him know, ‘Look, man we gotta get some more behind you.’"
For now, the quarterback behind him is Nate Sudfeld. Goff's backup last season, Sudfeld re-signed with the Lions last week. But the 29-year-old hasn't thrown a pass in the NFL since 2020 and Holmes admitted Monday that he's "well aware of the mystery behind Nate about the lack of game experience."
Holmes said the Lions were looking at two other free agent quarterbacks "that had a little more game experience, but obviously it just didn’t work out."
"And we let Nate know that as well, and his agent, about what our process is. I just think that when you’re honest with the players, that’s the best approach. That’s the only approach that we use," said Holmes. "But we still like Nate. If we do add another one, then obviously Nate would be competing."
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