Does Sean McVay Agree Jared Goff Has Improved Since Rams Trade?

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell said earlier this week that Jared Goff has improved since being acquired from the Los Angeles Rams.

Things between quarterback Jared Goff and Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay may not have ended well, but the former No. 1 overall pick did throw for over 4,600 yards twice in the latter's offense, while also winning an NFC Title in 2018. 

So from an ego perspective, it may be difficult for McVay to acknowledge that Goff's 2022 season in Detroit probably was the best individual campaign of his career. But after Lions head coach Dan Campbell said this week that he believes Goff has become a better player with the Lions than he was with the Rams, McVay was asked if he agrees with that assessment. 

“I think Jared's played at a really high level. I'll tell you what though, when you watch what he did last year, he played great," McVay said. "And I think because he's so conscientious, repetition is the mother of learning."

"The more you play, the more you learn. You can really see he's able to get through progressions quickly. They were asking a lot of him. He got a lot of different guys involved, took great care of the football, and so I think he's only gotten better." 

When the Lions acquired Goff in the Matthew Stafford trade prior to the 2021 season, he was largely viewed as a bridge quarterback, one that Detroit was so willing to take back because the Rams sent them two first-round picks and a third-round pick to do so. 

But while there was an out in Goff's contract after the 2022 season, the quarterback played so well in his second campaign with the Lions that moving on from him really wasn't a consideration. 

Under offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, Goff tossed 29 touchdowns to seven interceptions, racking up 4,438 passing yards. The Lions weren't able to sneak into the playoffs, but they finished with a 9-8 record, knocking out the division-rival Green Bay Packers in the final week of the regular season. 

McVay, who coached Goff for four seasons, was left to acknowledge that the quarterback has improved since the Rams traded him away.

"He played really good football here for us, really grateful for those things," McVay said. "But I was really impressed with just the way that he led and the way that he ended up demonstrating a lot of the things that we want to embody, that mental toughness. I was really happy to see how well he did. I think that's probably a fair assessment because he's only getting better.”

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