When he was traded from the Rams to the Lions, from Los Angeles to Detroit, from Sean McVay to Dan Campbell, Jared Goff knows how outsiders viewed it.
"Being shipped off and sent to a place to die, essentially, is what a lot of people think it was. And I was never going to allow that to happen," Goff said on the latest episode of the Trading Cards podcast released last week. "I’m fortunate enough to be around a lot of good coaches and players in Detroit who support me and help me reach my potential."
Goff was 26 when his career was uprooted in LA, traded by the team that had drafted him first overall and extended him just two years prior, ditched by the coach with whom he had gone to the Super Bowl. As he's said before, Goff was "shocked, confused, all the different emotions of, 'What happened?When did it go sour? How did this all go this way?'"
"That lasted for quite some time, but very soon after that was the feeling of opportunity in Detroit," he said. "That was really the overwhelming emotion once I got to talk to Dan (Campbell) and Brad (Holmes) and got to get out there to Detroit and really see the city and get to experience it. The feeling of like, OK, this is the ground floor, they’re breaking this all the way down to the studs and they’re going to build it back up and I’m going to get to be on the ground floor with them."
Goff said that while he "wouldn't have been able to have this perspective" at the time of the trade, "in hindsight, it’s the greatest thing that ever happened to me for my career and my development as a human."
He enters his fourth season in Detroit as the leader of a team with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations, a reborn and rebuilt quarterback aiming to sign a long-term extension with the Lions.
"The first year was really hard, really, really hard, but the last two years we’ve had some pretty good success. And being able to see it grow into what we’re at now, where we’re coming into a season with pretty high expectations and a standard for ourselves and with aspirations of winning a Super Bowl and being so close last year, that’s so exciting and so worth all the heartache," he said.
Goff is a California kid who got to play close to home during his time with the Rams, as the team moved back to its roots in Los Angeles. But he'd be the first to tell you, the Lions just mean more in Detroit. The city and the state of Michigan has rallied around him, to the point of chanting his name -- Ja-red Goff!! -- not only at Ford Field, but at grocery stores and hockey games and airports during the Lions' run to the NFC title game last season. If the Rams are a diversion in LA, the Lions are a way of life to the people of Michigan.
"The fans in Detroit, it’s so ingrained in them. And the whole state of Michigan has one football team, whereas in California, there was four when the Raiders were here. In the state of Michigan, it’s either UM or Michigan State, and then it’s the Lions in the NFL and then Tigers and Wings and Pistons," said Goff. "But it’s so ingrained in the culture there to be a sports fan and to raise your kids to root for the Lions or the Tigers or whoever it may be, and that’s been so fun for me to be a part of and to give those fans something to really be proud of the last couple years."
Goff was a two-time Pro Bowler with the Rams, but he's been a better quarterback with the Lions. In fact, over the last two seasons, he's been one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, second in the league in passing yards, third in touchdowns and fifth in passer rating (98.6). He's also grown as a leader thanks to his collaboration with coaches like Campbell and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
"There was an element to being empowered that happened in Detroit with Dan and a lot of the coaches where they were like, 'Dude, no, you go. Like, this is your thing, you go figure it out.' Where as a young player, that wasn’t always the case," said Goff. "Being able to be there and hear them give me those keys and let me fail, to an extent, let me make the mistake and not feel like the sky’s falling if that mistake is made and grow and learn -- that’s the only way you do -- and be coached in a way that they’re empowering me, now I’m going into year nine (in the NFL) and feel like I’m just scratching the surface of that. And hopefully can look back on this in three years and be like, 'Wow, yeah, I’m such a better leader now than I was then," said Goff.
Looking back, the trade worked for both teams. The Rams got Matthew Stafford, who immediately helped them win a Super Bowl. The Lions got a break from their past and a brighter future, with Goff and a pile of draft picks that have helped form one of the best rosters in the NFC.
When the two teams squared off in the wild card round last season, Goff played a flawless game to lift the Lions to their first playoff win in more than 30 years and just their second in the Super Bowl era. They'd add a third in the divisional round against the Buccaneers before falling just short in the NFC championship game against the 49ers.
"(The Rams) have obviously had their success since, so there’s some justification there for them, sure, but I’ve also had success since," said Goff. "Everyone runs a different race at different speeds. I had a lot of success in LA and a lot of times I’m super grateful for, but at the same time, when I look back on my career, I won’t have been there for that long. I started for four full seasons there and this year in Detroit will be my fourth full season starting there.
"And as I grow older, hopefully I'm in Detroit for a long time and able to say, OK, I was in Detroit for two-thirds or three-fourths of my career and in LA for just a small part at the beginning, and a part that shaped me. I say this all the time, I’m so thankful for my time there, obviously the good but also the bad. The hard times made me so much better."