Lions' Jared Goff addresses reputation, respect amid expectations

Detroit Lions starting quarterback Jared Goff isn't losing sleep over what those away from the team facility think of his abilities this summer. 

"I don’t care," Goff responded Tuesday when asked by Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press if the 28-year-old gets "enough respect" throughout the NFL community. "Don’t care. Don’t even know if I do or not. Try to win games for this team. That’s all." 

Goff gave that answer after he said during an edition of the "Pardon My Take" podcast released last week that he thinks "there's a lot of members of our media that have an easy time writing bad things. And they have for quite some time." Specifically, Goff referenced what he may or may not have read and heard when the 2022 Lions began the season at 1-6. 

Detroit ultimately finished the campaign at 9-8. 

"I think it always helps," Goff told Monarrez about possibly carrying a figurative chip on at least one shoulder ahead of the upcoming season. "You always want to find that edge someway somehow. That’s a smaller edge for me. I think I’ve got more personal ones that internally fire me up. But yeah, it’s always good to have the little chip on your shoulder that you want to prove people wrong." 

Goff ideally wants to do more than merely silence doubters with his on-the-field performances beginning with the regular-season opener at the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs on Sept. 7. The three-time Pro Bowl selection is only signed through the 2024 campaign, and there's no significant indication he's close to putting pen to paper on an extension as he shares a roster with third-round draft pick Hendon Hooker and recent free-agency signing Teddy Bridgewater.

As for the 2023 Lions, they are the betting favorites to emerge as the winners of at least the NFC North title. On Wednesday afternoon, OddsChecker listed the Lions fourth among the favorites at +1100 odds to represent the conference in Super Bowl LVIII.

If Goff is a major reason the Lions fail to meet such expectations, the franchise realistically could go in a different direction at the position ahead of the 2024 draft.