Jared Goff has been a production machine for Motor City since he arrived in Detroit. Delivering four straight 4,000+ yard seasons and helped turn the Lions into NFC North contenders. That production hasn’t stopped even when the Lions missed the last playoffs with a 9-8 record. But outside voices occasionally needle him over what he lacks compared to more dynamic passers, chief among them his limitations as a runner.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
One voice that keeps coming back to the topic is Detroit Lions’ former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who spent three seasons calling plays for Goff in Detroit before leaving to take over as head coach of the Chicago Bears last offseason. The two have stayed close since Johnson’s departure, with Goff repeatedly downplaying any notion of rivalry or resentment between them.
So when Johnson made indirect comments about Goff’s mobility, comparing him to Bears veteran QB Case Keenum, they felt like a dig towards Mr. Perfect. However, it didn’t take long for Johnson himself to make sure Goff knew there was nothing behind it.
“Ben don’t seem to get out of his own way when he’s talking to the media. So, I know there was no ill intent to that…He called me this morning and was like, ‘Dude, you know that means nothing,’” Goff said on the St. Brown podcast. “I’m like, ‘Yeah, dude. You’re good. Don’t worry about it.’”
The comment came in Week 3, after Keenum filled in for an injured Caleb Williams and led the Bears to a win over the Philadelphia Eagles. Asked postgame about adjusting his play-calling for a quarterback with a very different skill set than Williams, Johnson couldn’t resist a reference to his past.
“I’ve got a little history with that, calling plays for someone not so mobile,” Johnson said with a smile. “Now, I don’t have a history with someone that’s not a No. 1 pick, though, so that was currently a big deal. But Case came through; he played lights out.”
The comment spread quickly, with the fans and NFL pundits reading it as an indirect dig at Goff’s mobility limitations. However, Johnson didn’t wait for the story to build. He called Goff the next morning to clear the air.
This wasn’t even the first time a Johnson comment about mobility had circled back to Goff. Back at his introductory press conference in 2025, while talking up his excitement to coach Caleb Williams in Chicago, Johnson made a similar point about the contrast with his past.
“I get excited thinking about that because I haven’t really been around that since I’ve been in the league,” Johnson said back then. “But I’ve been on the other side, and I have experienced it. It’s demoralizing when you’re on the other side and watching it happen to your defense.”
Goff, however, admitted he plans to take a playful, indirect shot at Johnson in the future, only to call him afterward and clear the air.
“But I’m saving something. I’ll have to throw something his way at some point, where I’m like, ‘Oh, yeah, whatever. But like playcaller, blah, blah, blah.’ And I’ll call him and be like, ‘Dude, you know I’m just kidding. You know I mean nothing by it,'” Goff added.
Statistically, his mobility has long been among the least dynamic of any starting quarterback in the league.
Across ten NFL seasons, he’s never topped 108 rushing yards. Also, in the last five seasons, he’s finished with fewer than 90 rushing yards.
“Probably the lower end of the league,” said Goff about his mobility. “But I don’t think he was telling any lies when he said I wouldn’t be considered mobile. Am I more mobile than Case? I sure hope so. I love you, Case, but he’s in year whatever-he’s-in, and I’m a bit younger and hopefully a bit more mobile than him.”
What briefly looked like a controversy brewing between a coach and his former QB turned out to be little more than Lions fans protecting a player who’s earned that loyalty over the past several seasons. Goff himself made clear there was no bad blood, and Johnson’s early phone call the next morning suggests he wanted to make sure of that too. With that noise cleared up, the Lions turn their attention to the Week 4 game on the road against the Carolina Panthers.