Fresh from a disappointing performance in Super Bowl LIII, it’s fair to ask whether the Rams will keep quarterback Jared Goff beyond the expiration of his rookie deal. Especially given that Goff’s remaining contract matches the duration of another contract that, once expired, could attract the attention of Rams coach Sean McVay.
Goff has one season left on his base deal, plus an option year for 2020. Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins has two years remaining on a three-season, $84 million contract. Maybe, just maybe, the Rams will decide after Goff’s deal expires to let him walk away — and to embrace Cousins.
McVay worked with Cousins in Washington, and McVay continues to have a high opinion of Cousins’ abilities. With Goff playing well enough during McVay’s first year in L.A. to make keeping the 2016 first-rounder around a no-brainer, McVay’s team never was in the market for Cousins.
Two years from now, McVay may feel very differently. He already may feel differently now, after digesting Goff’s performance on Sunday.
The most immediate question for the Rams as it relates to Goff comes at the May 3 the deadline for picking up his fifth-year option. If the Rams do, Goff will be under contract through 2020, at a base salary of more than $22 million for the last year of his contract. The Rams then can decide whether to extend Goff or to find someone else, whether through the draft or via Cousins’ next foray into free agency.