Jared Goff and Taylor Decker both had small updates on their respective contract extension talks with the Detroit Lions.
While NFL free agency is mostly done and the NFL Draft is a week in the future, the Detroit Lions front office has a third task to accomplish this offseason: offer extensions to players entering the final year of their deal. While not every Lions player seeking an extension will get one before the start of the season, there are a few key players who are likely to see new deals sooner rather than later.
On Tuesday—Day 2 of the Lions’ offseason programs—both quarterback Jared Goff and left tackle Taylor Decker spoke to the media and revealed that early conversations are ongoing between their agents and the Lions.
“Yeah, there have been discussions, but I’ll leave it at that,” Goff said.
When asked to elaborate, Goff wouldn’t say how far talks have progressed and wouldn’t make any predictions (“you never know”), but reiterated his desire to stay in Detroit.
“It’s been amazing, man. I love it here, and I would love to be here for a long time,” Goff said. “Really special, like I said, to play in front of these fans. Being able to provide a winning culture in the last year-and-a-half or so, and see them experience that and be a part of that, has been fun. By no means are we satisfied, or happy to be here or any of that. It’s about what’s next, man.”
Goff is in the final year of the extension he originally signed with the Los Angeles Rams back in 2019: a four-year, $134 million extension. This year, he is scheduled to count $32.3 million against the cap with $22.3 million in salary, $5 million in a roster bonus, and an additional $5 million cap hit from the $20 million signing bonus he received after restructuring his contract with Detroit in 2021.
Many expect Goff’s next deal to be upwards of $45-50 million a year. Currently, only four quarterbacks are averaging deals over $50 million a year: Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, Lamar Jackson, and Jalen Hurts. Kyler Murray, Deshaun Watson, Patrick Mahomes, and Kirk Cousins are all making between $45-46.1 million.
As for Decker, there hasn’t been as much media buzz about a potential extension. The Lions left tackle will be 31 before the season starts, and Detroit will also have to start preparing an extension for Penei Sewell. That said, Decker has been the heart and soul of this team for a while, and he said preliminary talks about an extension have begun.
“Kind of entry-level conversations, base-level conversations,” Decker said. “I think my agent and the Lions are on the same page, so it’s very much an amicable conversation so far. But super early stages, nothing of substance really other than, ‘Okay, we’re going to try to figure something out, whether it’s multiple years or it’s not.’”
Decker’s extension may very well be dependent on what happens in next week’s draft. With a lot of offensive line talent in this class, Detroit could potentially target a tackle as early as the first round… and Decker knows it.
“Obviously, there are a lot more moving parts than just me on this team,” Decker said. “I look at it from my perspective and what’s best for me and my family moving forward. They have the draft coming up, they have a lot of other guys they’re going to sign.”
Neither player suggested there was any sort of deadline they were aiming for, and Lions general manager Brad Holmes hasn’t designated a specific time of year to get these deals done in the past. In other words, it’s hard to know if and when these talks will progress.
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