Lions still don’t know what they have in Hendon Hooker, but like progress

INDIANAPOLIS — Is Hendon Hooker going to back up Jared Goff forever? Is he a candidate to eventually contend for the starting job? Is he a bust?

At this point, even the Detroit Lions don’t know what they have in the former third-round pick.

Lions ‘aligned’ with Jared Goff on contract talks but not rushing anything

INDIANAPOLIS — Jared Goff has said he wants to stay with the Detroit Lions for the long haul.

And while Brad Holmes didn’t say much about the next steps for the starting quarterback entering a contract year. The Lions general manager said the two sides are on the same page about where they want to go from here on those discussions, though.

“No, we haven’t really weighed that into any of our decision-making,” Holmes said at the scouting combine when asked about the rush to re-sign Goff.

Goff is entering a contract year, as previously stated. The veteran quarterback is scheduled to make $21.7 million in salary, counting $31.7 million against the cap.

And in the world of ballooning contracts for quarterbacks, Goff’s once tippy-top deal ranks him 17th among the league’s highest-paid signal-callers.

His next deal is expected to bump him back into the upper echelon of quarterback contracts, with most expecting his eventual new pact to pay him north of $45 million per season. Spotrac projects Goff’s next deal at four years, worth $180 million, which would be right at that anticipated $45 million per season figure.

Goff has proven worth the risk since the Matthew Stafford trade to kick-start this regime’s rebuilding work in Detroit. And he’s found a home with this franchise, not to mention under Holmes, the executive who has continued to pound the table and support Goff.

The Lions have gone from 0-10-1 to one of the league’s hottest teams, coming within 30 minutes of protecting a three-score lead from reaching their first Super Bowl.

“It’s not up to me,” Goff said after the season ended. “I love this place, and we’ll see what happens as time goes on here. But yeah, I love this place, and love Dan and all the coaches love and all my teammates. It’s out of my hands. It’s up to my representatives and obviously the people upstairs (in the front office).”

The Lions have reached new heights, winning a division title and reaching the conference title game for the first time in more than 30 years. Goff has led a top-five passing attack in back-to-back seasons, with his play re-entering the elite conservation in aspects at times in 2023.

Goff threw for 4,575 yards (second in the NFL), 30 touchdowns (fourth) and hit a career-best 67.3% of his passes (fifth). Pro Football Focus ranked Goff 10th overall among all quarterbacks through the postseason, with the veteran ranking second when working with a clean pocket.

And the Lions feel like Goff is the quarterback who can lead them to a Super Bowl championship. They’ve built a roster catered to his strengths, with a loaded one-two punch in the backfield, two young All-Pro pass catchers, a high-ceiling burner and one of, if not the NFL’s best offensive line.

Dan Campbell sang Goff’s praises to open the combine when the head coach was asked if the Lions could win it all with the 29-year-old under center.

Look, I get it because it hasn’t happened yet, just people saying that, but I don’t get it. Because take the NFC Championship game, I thought he played a good game for us,” Campbell said. “He gave us a chance to win that. I just feel like, man, since he’s been here, I’ve seen a quarterback that’s gotten better and better and better and has grown every year, and I would say has gotten better under pressure every year and really just rose to the challenge.

“He’s more and more confident, he’s more comfortable. So I’ve said this before: to me, Jared Goff is a winning quarterback. You can win in this league with that guy. You can’t say that for a lot of guys. I’m glad that he’s here, I’m glad that he’s ours, and you could argue he’s grown more than a lot of players that we’ve had. People maybe don’t always see that, but he really has, man. For a guy who has been in this league and has continued to improve, it’s a credit to him.”

It’s clear Goff wants to run it back in the city that couldn’t stop chanting his name down the stretch. And the Lions seem to be on the same cue for the long-term picture at the game’s most premium position.