Lions GM: Goff proved 'he's the best QB for us'

Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes said Tuesday he's committed to quarterback Jared Goff in 2023.

"It's a lot easier to get worse at QB than to get better at QB," Holmes said about his quarterback plans for the Lions, who own the sixth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft from the Los Angeles Rams, according to Eric Woodyard of ESPN.

"I do think that Jared has proven that he's the best quarterback for us."

Holmes joined Detroit in January 2021 and, in his first major move with the franchise, traded longtime quarterback Matthew Stafford to the Rams for a package that included draft picks and Goff.

Many around the NFL originally assumed Goff wasn't Detroit's long-term plan under center as the team started to rebuild following the Stafford trade, but Holmes always believed in the signal-caller.

"I never deemed him as a bridge. I think everybody else did, but I think it was a little bit of recency bias," Holmes said, according to Nolan Bianchi of The Detroit News.

"I was always confident in him because I've been with him from the get-go," the 43-year-old added, per Brad Galli of WXYZ Detroit.

Goff - the first overall pick in 2016 - posted one of the best seasons of his career in 2022. The 28-year-old completed 65.1% of his passes for 4,438 yards and 29 touchdowns through 17 games, up from 3,245 yards and 19 TD passes in 14 appearances a year ago. After going 3-10-1 as a starter in 2021, Goff helped the Lions post a 9-8 record this season.

Overall, Detroit went from having the 25th-ranked scoring offense in 2021 to boasting the fifth-best unit in the league this campaign.