Category: Lions News

Jared Goff ‘open to anything’ but has had zero contract extension talks with the Lions

Goff’s current contract runs through the 2024 season

Jared Goff will be the Detroit Lions quarterback through at least the 2023 season. He earned that with outstanding play down the stretch, including the NFL’s longest current streak of consecutive passes without throwing an interception.

Goff also has been around long enough to know the fickle nature of the business side of the NFL. It’s how he wound up being traded to Detroit, falling out of favor with both the head coach and the financial value range of the Los Angeles Rams.

With a contract that runs through 2024 and will pay him just over $62.5 million in the next two seasons, Goff is still well-paid. He lacks the long-term security in Detroit, however, and could be in the market for a new contract extension.

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Thus far, no talks have begun on the contractual front between Goff and the Lions. The Pro Bowler was asked about it during the team’s voluntary workouts before the draft.

”I mean of course you’d be open,” Goff told reporters on Tuesday. “It hasn’t been brought to my attention, but yeah, of course, open to anything. Not up to me. I’m a player, I don’t have to make those decisions. And if I did, I would have made that decision a long time ago. Give me and all my friends all the money in the world. But I just get to play, and if that comes about, that’d be great. But we’ll see.”

The Lions do have considerable salary cap room to execute an extension if they want, especially after some recent contract restructures freed up a lot of money. Based on what Goff said and what the team has said publicly about keeping options open at quarterback in next week’s draft, it sure seems like the Lions want to see Goff sustain his high level of play before giving him more money over a longer time.

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Lions held a pre-draft visit with Illinois DB Jartavius ‘Quan’ Martin

Martin doesn’t get the attention of Devon Witherspoon but a fantastic Combine workout helped elevate his profile

The Detroit Lions spent another one of their pre-draft visits with a defensive back from Illinois. No, not that one, however…

Jartavius “Quan” Martin from the Fighting Illini made the visit to Allen Park, per numerous sources. The versatile previously met with the Lions during Senior Bowl week.

Martin is primarily a safety, but he’s also got experience and ability to play the slot. At 5-11 and 194 pounds, Martin is probably more of an option to play behind C.J. Garnder-Johnson in the slot in 2023 if he’s drafted by Detroit.

He’s a familiar sight from his days playing alongside Lions safety Kerby Joseph, the team’s third-round pick a year ago. Like Joseph last draft cycle, Martin typically projects in the third-to-fifth rounds. Of course, they were both teammates in the Illini secondary with cornerback Devon Witherspoon, who is one of the leading candidates to be the Lions’ pick at No. 6 overall.

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Lions assign jersey numbers to free agent signings

We now know what jersey numbers the newcomers chose

Per the team site, the newest members of the Detroit Lions now have their jersey numbers.

Wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr. will wear the newly-approved number 0. He donned the number 11 last time he was with Detroit, which is now held by Kalif Raymond.

Safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson will sport the number 2, which he has been after since signing with the team.

Cornerback Emmanuel Moseley will keep the number 4, which he wore last season with San Francisco.

Running back David Montgomery wore 32 for the Bears and in college, but has opted to go for number 5 with the Lions.

Cornerback Cam Sutton will wear number 6. He initially wanted to wear 7, his number from college, but it is retired by the franchise.

Cornerback Mac McCain will wear number 23, last held in Detroit by Mike Hughes.

Jalen Reeves-Maybin was unable to get his old number 44, and will instead wear 42.

Tight end Derrick Deese will once again wear 48 for the Lions. It was his number when he was with the team last offseason.

Long snapper Jake McQuaide will wear number 50, an unusual choice for the position.

Offensive lineman Graham Glasgow is the only free agent signing who has yet to be assigned a number. His old number 60 is currently held by Darrin Paulo. His college number, 61, is available though.

Lions to host Utah CB Clark Phillips on a pre-draft visit

Phillips is undersized but produced a lot for a very good defense at Utah

After meeting with Georgia DT Jalen Carter on Monday, the Detroit Lions will welcome a much smaller defensive prospect to Allen Park on Tuesday for another pre-draft visit. Tom Pelissero of NFL.com reports the team will have Utah cornerback Clark Phillips in for a “top-30” visit.

Phillips is generally projected as a Day 2 pick. His game tape and production (9 career INTs) at Utah scream top-25 overall, but he comes up short athletically. At just 5-foot-9 and with underwhelming speed and agility testing, Phillips will be a leap of coaching faith at the next level. Despite his smallish stature, he projects as an outside-only cornerback in the NFL.

The meeting in Detroit for Phillips follows a formal visit with the Lions at the NFL Scouting Combine.

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The Lions are bringing back CB Saivion Smith after his scary neck injury

Smith left last season’s loss to the Patriots in an ambulance with a scary neck injury

After one of the scariest injury situations in the NFL in years, it sure appeared as if Saivion Smith’s career would be over. The Lions cornerback suffered a severe neck injury in the team’s Week 5 loss to the New England Patriots last October, leaving the field in an ambulance.

Smith became a free agent after the season ended with him on injured reserve. However, Smith will once again try to play in the NFL and he’ll do so in Detroit.

Per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, the Lions are signing Smith to a new contract. The 25-year-old had surgery to repair a disc issue in his neck and has been cleared to return to football.

If he’s able to regain his form, Smith brings experienced depth to the CB corps. He was one of the team’s top players in training camp and preseason last summer and earned his start vs. New England.

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Lions to host Georgia DT Jalen Carter for a pre-draft visit

The visit should help the Lions ascertain if Carter is the right fit for them with the No. 6 overall pick–if he’s even still on the board at that slot.

The 2023 NFL draft is quickly approaching, which means teams are wrapping up their “top-30” visits with prospects. Next up on the visit docket for the Detroit Lions is a big name.

Georgia DT Jalen Carter will be in Allen Park on Monday for his official meeting with the Lions. It’s a prominent visitor for the Lions.

Carter is almost universally considered one of the five most talented players in the entire draft class. But an unsavory draft process that includes an arrest for street racing in relation to a fatal accident, as well as showing up overweight and badly out of shape at his pro day, has cast some real doubt about when Carter will be drafted.

The visit should help the Lions ascertain if Carter is the right fit for them with the No. 6 overall pick–if he’s even still on the board at that slot.

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Dan Campbell laid out what the Lions are looking for in draft prospects

Campbell added a word that isn’t often factored into the Lions’ draft speculation, and we included some players who fit that word

In his recent interview with The Rich Eisen Show, Lions head coach Dan Campbell said something that has slid under the radar. But it was an important little peek behind the veil into what sort of prospects the Lions really value in the draft.

Eisen asked Campbell what makes a player appeal to Campbell as a prospect “man crush”, of which Campbell says he has “more than one” in this draft class.

“The way they play, they love the game,” Campbell said. “It means something to them. They’re snap-to-whistle. They endear themselves to teammates. And they’re productive.”

Productive is a key word here. The emphasis on producing in college matters to the Brad Holmes/Dan Campbell Lions for draft prospects.

It’s been especially true on defense. Last year’s draft class is a great example.

Second-round EDGE Josh Paschal bagged just five sacks in his senior season at Kentucky, but he had 15.5 TFLs and forced two fumbles. He also drew several holding penalties (six or eight, depending on the source). Third-round safety Kerby Joseph picked off five passes in his last season at Illinois. Sixth-round LB Malcolm Rodriguez dominated the stat sheet with 129 tackles, 16 TFLs and four forced fumbles for Oklahoma State in 2021.

It mattered most at the top of the draft, however. Aidan Hutchinson notched 14 sacks, 16.5 TFLs, batted down three passes and forced two fumbles in his final year at Michigan. The production mattered.

Pay attention to the production figures of the (presumptive) top defensive prospects. The Lions certainly are.

A quick look at the final-season production from some of the leading candidates for the first pick for Detroit, listed alphabetically:

Will Anderson: 10 sacks, 17.5 TFLs, 51 tackles and a pick-six

Jalen Carter: 3 sacks, 7 TFLs, 32 tackles, 2 forced fumbles and 3 PDs

Christian Gonzalez: 50 tackles, 4 INTs, 1 TFL, 7 PDs

Tyree Wilson: 7 sacks, 14 TFLs, 61 tackles and 1 forced fumble which he also recovered

Devon Witherspoon: 41 tackles, 3 INTs, 3.5 TFLs, 14 PDs

For later in the draft, keep an eye on wildly productive college players like Eastern Michigan EDGE Joe Ramirez, USC cornerback Mekhi Blackmon, Ferris State pass rusher Caleb Murphy and Bowling Green DT Karl Brooks.

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Report: Lions tried to sign TE Foster Moreau in free agency

It indicates the Lions are looking for another mid-tier level tight end to help flesh out the TE room

An interesting tidbit on the Lions and the status of their tight end room came out this week. Dave Birkett of the Free Press noted that the team made an attempt to sign free agent Foster Moreau earlier this offseason.

The effort was thwarted when Moreau revealed he had non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and was stepping away from football while he fought to recover from cancer. The cancer was discovered during a free agent visit with the New Orleans Saints.

The courtship of Moreau indicates the Lions are looking to at least build competition on the current trio at tight end. Brock Wright, James Mitchell and Shane Zylstra are all back, but none are what is considered to be big-time talents at the position. Detroit traded Pro Bowler T.J. Hockenson last season in no small part because coordinator Ben Johnson’s offense doesn’t heavily utilize the tight end in the receiving game.

Moreau was considered a mid-level free agent after spending his first four seaons with the Raiders. He’s coming off a season with career highs in receptions (33) and yards (420) as the No. 2 TE in Las Vegas behind Pro Bowler Darren Waller, who missed half the season.

Stop projecting first-round tight ends for the Lions in 2023

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Dan Campbell: Lions are ‘open to do whatever’ including a 1st-round QB

Lions head coach Dan Campbell told Rich Eisen he and GM Brad Holmes are “open to do whatever” including a 1st-round QB in the 2023 NFL draft

Lions head coach Dan Campbell joined the Rich Eisen Show on Thursday for a guest appearance. Two weeks out from the 2023 NFL draft, Campbell left the door open for the Lions to select a quarterback with one of the team’s first-round picks, either at No. 6 or 18.

Eisen asked Campbell about the team’s recent visits with QBs, including Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker this week, and what it might mean for the draft prospects in Detroit.

Campbell reiterated once again the team’s heavy commitment to Jared Goff as the starting QB in 2023.

“I love Goff. We love Goff,” Campbell said emphatically. “He is our quarterback and nothing is going to change that.”

Then he turned his attention to the draft.

“But, we’re always looking to upgrade the roster at any position,” Campbell quickly followed up. “If the right guy presents himself at one of our picks and we feel like it’s the right thing to do, we’ll do it. We’re keeping our options open.”

He doubled down on the idea of keeping options open and acknowledged no decisions have been made at all yet.

“I’m open to do whatever and so is (GM) Brad (Holmes).”

Eisen also asked Campbell if he had a “man crush” on any players this year the way he did on Aidan Hutchinson a year ago.

“Oh yeah, yes I do,” Campbell said. “I’ve got more than one.”

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Tracy Walker looks ready to roll in latest clips from his Achilles surgery rehab

Lions safety Tracy Walker looks ready to roll in the latest clips he posted from his Achilles surgery rehab

Tracy Walker remains penciled in as one of the Lions’ three starting safeties as he recovers from surgery to repair his torn Achilles tendon. The veteran is quickly erasing the pencil with permanent marker on the depth chart.

Walker has periodically posted videos of his progress in rehabilitating from surgery. Now over six months out from the September 25th date of injury, Walker’s latest video documentation of his progress in movement and explosiveness shows a player who sure looks ready to get on the field very soon.

Here are some of the live-action videos captured from Walker’s Instagram story on Thursday:

Those are very promising movement skills from Walker, who recently declared he would be ready for OTAs next month.