The Time Is Now To Lay the Foundation Of the Jared Goff Succession Plan
Credit: David Reginek-Imagn Images
There’s an expression that some front offices put into practice that says you should try to get your next franchise quarterback before you need your next franchise quarterback. It’s something well-practiced in the Green Bay Packers organization and has worked out well, despite the occasional awkwardness.
Right now, Jared Goff is locked and loaded to be The Guy in Detroit for the foreseeable future. That’s great, but he also turns 31 in October, and it’d be smart to put a succession plan in place by drafting a quarterback this year.
Currently, the quarterback room past Goff is in some sort of limbo. Teddy Bridgewater came out of retirement after coaching his high school alma mater to a high school national championship in Florida. Bridgewater’s timeline was not the norm, with the veteran joining the Lions at the end of December and right before the playoffs.
Bridgewater is a free agent, but has made it clear he plans to return to coach at his alma mater next season, but does not intend to retire from the NFL. So does that mean becoming another late addition to a team in 2025? It could, but if so, that means he won’t be in the immediate plans of the Lions. And it goes without saying, he’s not in the long-term plans, either. Then there’s Hendon Hooker, a third-round pick in 2023 by the Lions who is still looking for his first shot to show or prove his worth.
But why move now? Goff just signed a four-year extension last May. He’s locked in to be the guy for the Lions, and it’s hard to look four years ahead and predict what will be next. Still, the Lions can feel safe knowing they’ll need to find an heir apparent.
Hooker — who is already 27 — is entering the third year of his rookie deal and has zero pathway to playing time. Even if he stays in Detroit through the end of Goff’s contract, Hooker will be in his 30s, himself, which isn’t a fit with the Lions’ timeline.
Entering last offseason, head coach Dan Campbell made it clear what they were hoping to see in Hooker with his growth and development.
“We need to feel like by the end of camp this guy can, he can run this offense,” Campbell said last May of Hooker. “He’s somebody we know that, man, we can play the game a certain way with him. We know he’s going to be able to process the information, he’s going to get us in the right play, and he’s somebody that we can — man, he’s going to keep the ship afloat. That’s it. We don’t need him to come in and win a game. You just want to feel like, ‘All right.’ So obviously he’s going to need to take another step up.”
But signing Bridgewater so late in the season had some pondering if Detroit didn’t trust Hooker if he had to start in a pinch. For what it’s worth, Campbell shot that notion down.
“It doesn’t mean we’re disappointed in Hooker. That’s not what this means,” Campbell said in December. “It just means this gives us somebody that’s played a lot in the NFL. We’re getting ready for the playoffs, so it’ll be good to get him [Bridgewater] back in the fold with us.”
It sounds like a team that is intrigued with its backup quarterback but also recognizes the opportunities aren’t going to be readily available. All of it adds up — especially with Year 1 of Goff’s extension kicking in — to this being the perfect time for the Lions to draft a quarterback.
No, this isn’t to suggest the Lions should use their first-round selection on a quarterback. However taking a quarterback they have a good feeling about, or one they get smitten with after the Combine and pro days are completed, would perfectly align with Goff’s contract situation.
Detroit is in a great spot with a roster loaded with top-tier talent. They are ready to win now and have the pieces to do so. Some may scoff at even shifting attention towards quarterback, but the suggestion isn’t to use a first-round pick, like Green Bay did when they took Jordan Love when some believe a wide receiver could’ve pushed them over the top in 2020. No, the idea is that Goff is the guy now, but might not be in four years. They can use their first-round pick to upgrade the 2025 squad, but draft, stash, and develop a mid-round quarterback they like. Who can argue with that?
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