Detroit Lions Have Entered A New Era With Jared Goff Extension

The days of the Detroit Lions being the NFL’s laughing stock may very well be over, as they just signed quarterback Jared Goff to a massive four-year, $212 million contract extension.

Why is this significant? Well, it shows the Lions’ commitment to winning.

Goff is the third key player Detroit has locked up with a long-term deal this offseason. First, it signed offensive tackle Penei Sewell. Then, it extended wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.

And now, the Lions have struck a pact with Goff, putting in place a very impressive nucleus in the Motor City for the foreseeable future.

Detroit is coming off of its best season in three decades. It just won its first division title since 1993. It also won its first playoff game since January 1992.

What’s more, the Lions came this close to punching their ticket to the Super Bowl, as they held a 24-7 halftime lead over the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game.

Had Detroit even played mediocre football in the second half, it would have battled the Kansas City Chiefs for all the marbles. Heck, if the Lions just stopped short of completely wetting the bed over the final 30 minutes, they would have done it. That’s all they needed to do.

But now, Detroit seems clearly intent on moving forward and leaving the 49ers loss in the past. It’s not about the defeat in San Francisco last January; it’s about everything the Lions achieved leading up to that.

Detroit won 12 games during the regular season, marking the franchise’s highest win total since 1991. The Lions did go 11-5 in 2014, but no one really took them seriously as legitimate contenders that season.

This past year, however, people were actually impressed by Detroit, and some have the Lions pegged as the second-best team in the NFC heading into 2024.

When was the last time anyone said that about this franchise?

As Calvin Johnson said this week, this is a night and day situation. Gone are the days when the Detroit faithful had to show up to Ford Field with paper bags over their heads. Now, people in the state of Michigan can proudly declare their fandom for the Lions.

It seemed like we would never see the day that Detroit starting acting like an actual NFL franchise, but here we are.

The question is whether or not the Lions can sustain it, but at this point, I see no reason to say why they can’t. This positive trend really started in the back half of 2022 and carried over into 2023.

Head coach Dan Campbell has completely changed the culture, as has general manager Brad Holmes.

It’s weird to see Detroit actually making good, shrewd moves and building toward a better future, but that’s exactly what the Lions are doing.

Now, we’ll see if Jared Goff can lead Detroit to where it has never been before: the Super Bowl.