Los Angeles Rams: 2019 is the most important year of Jared Goff’s career

Jared Goff and the Los Angeles Rams are coming off of a season that saw the team get so close to winning it all, which wasn’t as important as 2019 for Goff.

There was legitimate worry that the Los Angeles Rams selected the wrong quarterback when they traded up to draft Jared Goff with the first overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. Goff did not look that great in his rookie campaign, and due to the nature of the NFL, was already being deemed a bust.

Goff did exactly what he had to do the following year and put together a great season that shot his value through the roof, even if it was overshadowed by Carson Wentz‘ MVP-caliber season.

Another impressive statistical year in 2018 and it is safe to say that all of the bust comments are completely nullified. Goff has been one of the five best quarterbacks in the league the last two seasons, in terms of passing yards and touchdowns, and seemingly has cemented his place as a franchise quarterback.

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However, while the talks of a bust have since died down, there are still some legitimate worries about Goff and his ability to take it up a level. While Goff is talented and has thrived in the Rams system, it is a legitimate question if this is a nature of Goff’s progressions of Sean McVay’s offense.

There are moments where Goff does not look all that great. He was not tremendous in Super Bowl LIII and Bill Belichick forced him to make decisions on the fly. That was something that Goff failed to do and ultimately led to the team only scoring three points.

Because of these worries, and the fact that the Los Angeles Rams have three massive contracts committed to Todd Gurley, Aaron Donald and Brandin Cooks, it is still up in the air whether or not the Rams eventually sign Jared Goff to a massive franchise-quarterback contract.

Goff is entering his fourth season as a professional, which marks the last of his rookie contract. However, as it is with every first-round pick, the Los Angeles Rams have a fifth-year player option to extend Goff for one more season.

The Rams are notorious for signing these extensions before the fifth option year, which has some expecting a big contract for Goff, not this offseason but next. Regardless of if it comes in a year or in two years, 2019 will be the year that impacts the team’s decision the most.

Goff can put up all the monster numbers that he wants but if he does not display the ability to be a great decision maker and win games on his own then the Rams might be hesitant to extend Goff. It is not that Goff is a bad quarterback, but that he would not be worth the massive amount of money that a franchise quarterback gets.

And if the front office is really sold on McVay and the idea that he can make any talented quarterback look like 100 bucks, the team might as well draft another quarterback, avoid having to pay that massive salary and instead use the salary cap space elsewhere.

By the end of the 2019 season, we will likely be able to tell what direction the Los Angeles Rams are going to go in, which makes it the biggest season of Goff’s career.

Right now, though, it is still up to debate on whether or not the Rams should make this commitment. Only Goff will be able to settle that debate.