Jared Goff is part of the $50 million club, the second-highest paid quarterback in the league after inking a long-term deal with the Detroit Lions on Monday. Tell someone that sentence three years ago and they would’ve asked if you needed help getting home. But Goff has turned his and the Lions’ fortunes around, leading Rich Eisen to wonder if Justin Fields is next.
On yesterday’s episode of The Rich Eisen Show, Eisen wondered if Fields will have the same career arc as Goff.
“How many guys who have swapped teams have been left for dead,” Eisen said. “Because they got traded to a spot. First round picks. And then wound up getting paid like this? That’s why I’m rooting for Jared Goff. So don’t throw Justin Fields out or anybody else yet. You never know. Just wind up in the right spot.”
Goff and Fields share parallels. Both first-round picks who didn’t stick with their drafted team. Goff saw more team success with the Los Angeles Rams than Fields did as a Chicago Bear, appearing in one Super Bowl, but fans were eager to move on. Goff was part of the Matthew Stafford deal, initially viewed as a salary dump for the Rams, Goff became a solid starter who led the Lions to their first playoff victories since 1991 this past postseason. Detroit nearly beat San Francisco in the NFC Championship Game before blowing a 24-7 halftime lead. Now, Goff earned a four-year, $212 million extension. Only the Cincinnati Bengals Joe Burrow is earning more per year.
Fields was traded from Chicago to Pittsburgh in March. He’s entering a different circumstance than Goff, expected to be the Week 1 backup to Russell Wilson instead of starter. But Eisen’s point is quarterbacks can take the scenic route to success. Baker Mayfield is a similar story. Once the first overall pick who had an up-and-down time in Cleveland, he bounced around a couple teams before finding a home in Tampa Bay. He signed a three-year, $100 million deal this offseason.
Will Fields be next? History still says it’d be an upset. For every Goff and Mayfield, who aren’t elite quarterbacks, there’s plenty other first-round picks who were bad in one place and in the next. Eisen’s point isn’t predictive. It’s possible. Perhaps Fields clicks in Pittsburgh with a steadier coaching staff. And if he turns things around, he won’t be the first. Or the last.
