Jared Goff
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The Lions have made the Teddy Bridgewater signing official.
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff has found a home since being acquired by the club in the stunning 2021 trade that saw longtime Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford, whom they selected first overall in the 2009 NFL Draft, go the other way to the West Coast.
He’s helped lead them to the best successes that they’ve enjoyed in decades, and was even rewarded with a four-year, $212 million extension. While the Lions ultimately missed the postseason in 2025, there is still plenty ahead to look forward to.
While the Lions were unable to return to the NFL postseason in the recently completed 2025 campaign for the first time since 2023, Goff’s numbers were excellent, as he threw for 4,564 yards with 34 touchdowns.
And speaking of Stafford, Goff is now officially ahead of him in a key statistical category among his quarterback peers in the NFL.
Detroit Lions QB Jared Goff Is The NFL’s Leader In Passing Yards Since 2016
Goff, who threw for 4,564 yards this past season with the Lions, is officially the NFL’s passing yards leader since 2016 with a total of 39,622. That bests the total of 38,540 yards held by Stafford.
Coming in third place is new Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins with 37,504 passing yards, followed by Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (35,989 yards). Finally, rounding out the top five is the 35,939 yards accumulated by Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
The Goff/Stafford trade is one that Lions head coach Dan Campbell feels worked out for both sides as he explained this past December.
“Look, I know we’re excited, and I’m sure they’re excited,” Campbell said regarding what the trade yielded for both teams. “So, however you want to look at it, I know on our end we’re fortunate to have the guy (Goff) we have and to get all that we were able to get.
“We’ve got (Penei) Sewell, we’ve got Saint (Amon-Ra St. Brown), we’ve got a lot of good players, and we’ve got Goff. So I know it feels like a win for us, and I’m sure they do too.”
Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell Recently Shut Down Any Trade Speculation Regarding Jared Goff
During an interview earlier this year on Detroit’s flagship 97.1 The Ticket, Campbell emphasized that any trade speculation regarding Goff was completely out of bounds and reiterated that there was zero chance of Goff going anywhere.
“Jared Goff is a stud. He’s an absolute stud. We’re fortunate to have him as a quarterback,” Campbell said. “He’s a winning quarterback in this league. He played at a very high level all season long.”
Campbell added of Goff, “He played even better than he played the year before, and he’s continued to play better. We’re thankful to have him. I’m thankful to have him. He’s an absolute stud. He’s a pro. He’s going nowhere.”
The Lions recently restructured Goff’s contract, giving them some additional salary cap flexibility. They converted $40 million of his base salary into a signing bonus, freeing up $32 million in salary cap space for the 2026 season.
The move also added a void year to the deal and reduced his 2026 cap hit to $37.6 million.