The Lions paid out big extensions to two premier players, and Jared Goff is next. Did Brad Holmes give us a hint of when to expect it?
The Detroit Lions made a lot of noise ahead of draft day in Detroit when they announced hefty extensions for wide receive Amon-Ra St. Brown and OT Penei Sewell just hours apart. It brought brief relief to Lions fans all over, until it quickly led to the question of where Jared Goff’s extension was. Brad Holmes and this front office have been very vocal about their faith in Goff and desire to sign him to an extension. Yet, almost three weeks later, there’s no Goff extension in sight. However, in a recent interview , Brad Holmes may have given us a hint as to when to expect it.
Question of the day: When will Jared Goff’s extension get done?
My answer: I think Holmes gave us an easter egg that tells us a lot about when to expect a Goff extension—I don’t think it has to do with timeframe, so much as other quarterbacks.
As highlighted in the article above, here’s what Holmes said about the Lions’ high-priority extensions:
“In a perfect world, we would’ve had all three of them done. Bang, bang, bang,” Holmes said. “But these things just kind of take a while, especially with the quarterback market, but I do have faith that it’s gonna get done.”
At this rate, the Lions know what he’s worth to them, and Goff and his agent know their number. If an extension hasn’t happened, I think they’re a ways apart. I found it particularly interesting that Holmes mentioned the rest of the quarterback market.
Most of the top 2024 quarterbacks have been signed—Kirk Cousins, Baker Mayfield, Gardner Minshwer, and the likes. The only remaining free agent is Ryan Tannehill, but it’s unlikely Tannehill will command a high enough price that it would shift Goff’s contract either way.
That means we have to turn to the 2025 class, and I think that’s where our answer lies. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa are both slated to be free agents. Goff sort of lies between them in the quarterback hierarchy, and it’s very likely that if either or both of them signs an extension before Goff, it’ll serve as an anchor for Goff’s numbers. There’s even a case to be made that Packers quarterback Jordan Love, who’s also slated to be a free agent, could influence Goff’s contract if he were to sign a big extension.
Ultimately, I’m willing to read into Holmes’ comments and assume the two parties are far apart and waiting for another domino to fall. Once Prescott or Tagovailoa sign an extension, Goff and the Lions will have a very important datapoint that will force one side to move closer to the other. Only then do I see Goff’s extension getting done.
Of course, there’s always the chance the Lions do what Washington did with Kirk Cousins, and let Goff’s contract ride out, and then just keep slapping the franchise tag on him until one side folds—but let’s burn that bridge when we get there.
When do you think Jared Goff’s extension will get done? Let us know in the comments below.