Just two years after leading the Los Angeles Rams to the Super Bowl, Jared Goff could soon be finding a new home.
A report from The Athletic claimed that the Rams have entered preliminary discussions with a number of teams about trading their quarterback. The outlet reported that general manager Les Snead would not commit to Goff as the team’s permanent signal caller.
“Jared Goff is a Ram at this moment. It’s way too early to speculate (on) the future. That’s a beautiful mystery,” he said.
It was not clear yet just what the Rams could be asking in return, or how far any of the talks have progressed. The top overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft, Goff has been strong at times but struggled in the playoffs, the report noted. While he has thrown for 107 touchdowns in 69 career regular-season games, Goff has just four touchdown passes in six career playoff games, with his completion percentage dropping from 63.4 percent in the regular season to 57.4 percent in the playoffs.
As The Inquisitr noted, some insiders believe that Goff would not be a lock to remain the team’s starting quarterback in 2021, even if he does return. The club is instead expected to go into the offseason with an open competition between the former Super Bowl starter and current backup John Wolford. As the report noted, Wolford looked sharp in a Week 17 win over the Arizona Cardinals, throwing for 231 yards and an interception.
Wolford played in the team’s wild-card round playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks but was replaced by Goff after going down with a neck injury. The Rams defeated the Seahawks before falling to the Green Bay Packers in the divisional round.
Others have joined in predicting a split between Goff and the Rams, with some saying there have been indications for some time that the franchise was not happy with his performance and ready to move on if they were able to secure a better option.
If the Rams should choose to move on from Goff, there could be a number of potential replacements. There is expected to be considerable turnover at the quarterback position in the coming offseason, with Deshaun Watson likely on the move after requesting a trade from the Houston Texans and Matthew Stafford asking the Detroit Lions to trade him as well. Other rumors have indicated that divisional foe Jimmy Garoppolo could be available, as the San Francisco 49ers are also looking for a potential upgrade.