Jared Goff is a solid NFL starting quarterback, who was thrown under the bus by his former coach, the Rams' Sean McVay.
The new Lions' starter deserved better. It is probable, barring injury, Goff will play well this season.
But is that necessarily a good thing?
Sounds ridiculous. Yet, there is a danger Goff plays just well enough that the Lions find themselves on the same track that led them nowhere with Goff's predecessor, Matthew Stafford.
Goff will carry roughly a $31 million salary cap hit on his contract for each of the 2022, 2023 and 2024 seasons. The dead cap hit if he is released after 2022 is just $10 million. It's likely he will be with the Lions the next two seasons. Then what?
Goff will not turn 27 until October, so he is relatively young by QB standards. Based on age and talent level, being the Lions' QB is fine.
Salary-wise, though, not so much. The rub comes if the Lions become enamored with Goff to the point they sign him to an undoubtedly expensive restructured deal, or even an extension.
Trevor Lawrence, the first overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, is slotted in at escalating salary cap numbers starting at $6.03 million this season to $11.7 million in 2024.
In a salary cap-guided league, the Lions must be right with their decision at by far the most important position. Goff has to be an elite QB, not just a good one. Otherwise, he would hinder the team, not help it considering the cap cost.
Stafford was quoted recently saying he let the Lions down. It was only true in connection to his salary. Stafford has never been a bad QB. He is, at minimum, very good. But juxtaposed with the enormous amount of the cap his salary hogged up, it hindered the Lions' process.
Josh Allen (Bills), Kyler Murray (Cardinals), Baker Mayfield (Browns) and Justin Herbert (Chargers) are examples of how early QB draft picks have turned around the course of franchises with a combination of talent and salary cap sense.
The Lions have essentially kicked the QB can down the road. They haven't drafted a QB in the first round since Stafford in 2009.
They have only selected two QB's in the draft since, the very forgettable duo of Jake Rudock and Brad Kaaya, each in the sixth round during the ill-fated Bob Quinn regime.
The Lions have had the eighth, third and seventh overall selections in the past three drafts. They have taken a tight end (T.J. Hockenson), a cornerback (Jeff Okudah) and an offensive tackle (Penei Sewell).
In the process, they passed on Herbert and Allen.
This town seems alarmed by the notion of the Lions drafting a QB in the first round. Maybe memories of Chuck Long, Andre Ware and Joey Harrington have lingered. Perhaps even Stafford's early growing pains.
But that's faulty old-school thinking. Young QB's have never been more ready-made for the NFL and more affordable, or possible to unload. Look how quickly the Cardinals traded in Josh Rosen for Murray, and the Jets Sam Darnold for Zach Wilson.
It's difficult to see the Sewell draft choice as a mistake, especially if he becomes an All-Pro. Yet, it will be distasteful if Justin Fields stars for the Bears or Mac Jones takes off with the Patriots.
A few great games by Goff won't mean he is the answer at QB. Stafford is the classic example of such convoluted logic. A good season doesn't mean Goff's an elite QB, and should be paid as such by NFL standards by the rebuilding Lions.
It would be both settling and unsettling, and lacking understanding of what presents the best chance to win big in the current NFL.
