Lions have had ‘good dialogue’ on contract extension for Jared Goff
The Lions have had “good dialogue” in contract talks with two key offensive players, but general manager Brad Holmes would not say Friday whether extensions with Jared Goff or Jonah Jackson still could happen before the Lions’ Sept. 7 season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs.
“We’ve kept open dialogue with their agents in camp and I think the transparency has been good, so we’ll see how it goes,” Holmes said.
Asked for an update on talks with both players, Holmes said, “Good dialogue.”
Goff and Jackson are in different spots contractually entering the 2023 season.
Goff has two seasons remaining, including this year, on a contract he signed with the Los Angeles Rams in the summer of 2019. He’s due base salaries of $20.975 million this year and $21.65 million next, with $5 million roster bonuses each year, on a deal well below market value.
Justin Herbert, 25, signed a five-year, $262.5 million contract that made him the highest-paid quarterback in the game this summer.
Goff, 28, last season led the Lions to their first winning record since 2017, completing 65.1% of his passes while throwing for 4,438 yards with 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
“He’s very much a piece of the puzzle here,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “He’s not – it’s not the end-all, be-all. We don’t need you to be a Hall of Fame quarterback out there. We just need you to run the offense, be efficient, make the throws that are there, be accurate – because that’s what he does well. Get us into the right play, that’s all you’ve got to do. And so with that, ’Hey, cut it loose.’”
Lions can’t help Jameson Williams with rehab during suspension
The Lions will not be able to help wide receiver Jameson Williams with his rehab from a pulled hamstring during the first half of his six-game suspension, general manager Brad Holmes said Friday. Williams began serving his six-game suspension for violating the NFL’s gambling policy at 4 p.m. Tuesday, two
weeks after he injured his hamstring while running a pass route in joint practices with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“Had good communication with Jameson and his agent before the deadline,” Holmes said. “Obviously, can’t have any contact with him, but they have a good plan in place for him while he’s recovering from his injury.”
Williams said in August he planned to bring his trainer to Detroit during his suspension to stay sharp for when he return. Per NFL rules, Williams can rejoin the team for workouts after three weeks but can’t play in games until Oct. 22 when the Lions visit the Baltimore Ravens.
“That six-week suspension sounds daunting when you say that, but after three weeks he’s going to be allowed to come back in the building and we can kind of reacclimate him there,” Holmes said. “But the expectations is for him to handle everything that the plan is set up to do within those three weeks. I have confidence that he will and I have so much respect for the future, which is the unknown, that I don’t want to say he’s going to get this many catches, this many yards, but we hope that he has an impact for us when he’s able to join us.”
Moseley could play vs. KC
Emmanuel Moseley practiced Friday for the
first time with the Lions, and Campbell said it’s too early to say if the veteran cornerback will play next week against the Chiefs.
“It’s tough for me to say right now, but he’s progressed well,” Campbell said. “It’s a credit to him. He’s put a ton of work into it, he’s a grinder and what bodes well for him is he’s smart. He’s played the game and he’s pretty instinctive and so he can – I think he’s got a chance to catch up pretty fast. Does that mean this week? I don’t know, but we’ll just take it as it comes.”
Moseley was late reporting to training camp after he underwent a clean-up procedure on his surgically repaired knee and spent the summer on the physically unable to perform list.
The Lions activated Moseley to the 53-man roster at Tuesday’s roster cut deadline. He will open the season as the team’s No. 3 cornerback behind Cam Sutton and Jerry Jacobs.
Briefly
The Lions finalized their practice squad Friday, re-signing tight end Darrell Daniels. He joined the team in early August after spending part of last season with the Indianapolis Colts.