When Jared Goff was initially traded from the Los Angeles to the Detroit Lions in exchange for Matthew Stafford in 2021, many outside of the Lions organization expected him to be a bridge quarterback while the Lions searched for their next passer. Two years later, Goff is leaving those narratives behind after many believed Detroit was a career death sentence for him.

Instead, Goff is playing better than ever and the Lions are one of the top teams in the NFL at 4-1. General manager Brad Holmes and coach Dan Campbell followed through on their promise to build a team around Goff, and it's paying off. Through the Stafford-Goff trade, the Lions have notably drafted wide receiver Jameson Williams, running back Jahmyr Gibbs and tight end Sam LaPorta with the extra picks they acquired.

During an appearance on “The Insiders” on NFL+, GM Brad Holmes spoke on how he never bought into the idea that Goff was just a bridge quarterback.

“Very, very proud of Jared … I never thought of him of just a bridge or stop-gap or whatever just because I was all around the success he had early in his career in L.A. It seems like when he got here when the trade was made that all that success was forgotten about. It was just this narrative that he was just a bridge. I always thought that was a lazy narrative.

It was like ‘he can't be the quarterback' but no, we just kept our belief in him, and I think (coach) Dan (Campbell) and (OC) Ben (Johnson) have done an outstanding job of giving him ownership. His confidence is sky high. He's playing at a high level right now,” via Nick Shook of Around the NFL.

After years of accusations that Jared Goff was solely a product of the Sean McVay system, Goff is in the Top-10 in most passing categories including completion percentage, yards, touchdowns and passer rating. The Lions overall have one of the best offenses, ranking fourth in points per game.