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Lindsey ThiryESPN
Quarterback Jared Goff says he’s ready to move on after a box office trade that dealt with him from the Los Angeles Rams to the Detroit Lions.
“As a quarterback, as the guy who is possibly the most important position on the field, if you’re in a place where they don’t want you and want to move on from you, the feeling is mutual,” Goff told the Los Angeles Times. “You don’t want to be in the wrong place. It became increasingly clear that it was like that.”
On Saturday, the Rams traded Goff, along with two first-round picks and a third-round pick, to the Lions in exchange for quarterback Matthew Stafford.
Goff, the No. 1 in the 2016 draft, told the Los Angeles Times he wasn’t sure when the Rams decided he wouldn’t be a part of their future.
“That’s the hardest part right now trying to figure it out, when did this happen?” Goff said. “These are conversations I may or may not have, and I’m trying to figure it out. That’s the conversation I need to have.”
After the season’s loss to the Green Bay Packers in a divisional playoff game, Rams coach Sean McVay was asked if Goff was the quarterback. “Yeah, he’s our quarterback right now,” McVay said.
Ten days later, Rams CEO Les Snead would not commit to Goff’s long-term future with the team during a video conference, telling reporters, “Right now, Jared Goff is a Ram. So what is it? the date? January 26 “.
Neither the Rams nor the Lions can comment publicly on the trade until it is official at the start of the new league year on March 17th.
After McVay’s arrival in 2017, Goff led the Rams to consecutive division titles, an NFC championship and an appearance in Super Bowl LIII, twice winning Pro Bowl recognition.
Prior to the 2019 season, Goff signed a four-year, $ 134 million extension that guaranteed $ 110 million.
Still, the offense retreated in 2019 and continued its downward turn last season despite a 10-6 final and a wildcard playoff victory. Goff finished his last season in Los Angeles going 3,952 yards and 20 touchdowns with 13 interceptions.
In four seasons with McVay, Goff racked up 42 wins, tied with Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, and second only during that time with Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady.
But since 2019, Goff ranks second in the NFL with 38 rotations.
After the trade, Goff said he overcame an initial sense of disappointment and got excited after connecting with Lions staff, which includes general manager Brad Holmes, the former Rams university research director who had a voice. in Goff’s writing.
“You start to feel, I don’t mean‘ relief ’is the word, but you start to feel happy, grateful, ready for a new opportunity,” Goff said. “That’s the biggest feeling that overwhelmed me that night, and even the days that followed.”
After playing five seasons in Los Angeles, Goff said he would not let a disappointing ending tarnish his lasting memories.
“Obviously the ending wasn’t favorable nor was it fun,” Goff said. “But they drafted my number 1 overall and took me to a city that hadn’t had a football team in a long time, as it was part of that rebuild after 2016, they could help get the Los Angeles football. Things I’m extremely proud of. It’s something I’ll always remember. “