The Detroit Lions were so close last season.

A tale of two seasons saw Detroit recover from a 1-6 start to their 2022 campaign, going 8-2 to end the year with a record of 9-8 and their highest regular-season wins total since the 2017 season. They took eighth place in the NFC with spots ahead of the Washington Commanders, Green Bay Packers and Carolina Panthers, putting them just out of reach of a spot in the NFL playoffs.

The Lions will have plenty to look out for as training camp progresses. Detroit made its fair share of moves in the offseason to add to its roster before the start of its 2023 season, adding and retaining a few key players before an important year for the Lions. In March, they signed former Chicago Bears running back David Montgomery to a three-year, $18 million contract. Cornerback Cameron Sutton joined on a three-year, $33 million deal the same month.

Detroit added eight players to its roster via the 2023 NFL draft. Alabama running back Jahmyr Gibbs, Iowa tight end Sam LaPorta and Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker highlighted Detroit's additions on offense.

Who is one surprise player who could make or break the Lions' 2023 NFL season?

Jared Goff

Goff first joined the Lions in a trade that sent former Pro Bowl quarterback Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams in 2021. Goff has since played and started in 31 games for Detroit, gaining 7,683 passing yards and 48 passing touchdowns during his two seasons with the Lions.

Lions head coach Dan Campbell showed confidence in the former Cal quarterback last month.

“I think he's settled in with us, he's gotten very comfortable with what we want to do,” Campbell said, via Around The NFL Writer Nick Shook. “I think he's, you know everybody knows what he came from, and that wasn't the easiest thing. You know you get traded, you're another team, ‘what's going on, I thought I was playing pretty good, maybe I'm not,' is that the perception, then you get here and you try to find your way with a new staff, like we are, a new offense.

“But he just hung in there, and I think what you're seeing is a guy who just put his head down and went back to work, and worked on what he could, tried to improve on what he could, and now his confidence has really grown, and along the way he's matured as a quarterback.”

Goff will become an unrestricted free agent in 2025, according to sports contract and salaries website Spotrac. The Lions re-signed quarterback Nate Sudfeld in March. The former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback has played in six games during his NFL career, including in two games for Detroit in 2022. Hooker and former Nebraska quarterback Adrian Martinez round out the potential quarterback options for the Lions.

It will be up to Goff, along with some of the team's newest additions, to lead an offense that gained a total of 4,444 passing yards last season. The figure put them in seventh place in the NFL and ahead of the Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills and Seattle Seahawks, according to NFL.com. Their 29 passing touchdowns put them in about eighth place in the league.

If Goff can work well with some of the team's newer running backs, receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and tight end Sam LaPorta to run the offense at a high level, the Lions will have plenty to look forward to heading into the 2023 NFL season.