Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff recently opened up about his 2021 trade from the Los Angeles Rams, sharing his feelings of shock and disappointment during Season 2, Episode 2 of Netflix’s “Quarterback.” However, his candid remarks didn’t sit well with former NFL linebacker LaVar Arrington, who had some sharp criticism for the Pro Bowl signal-caller.
Arrington, who earned three Pro Bowl nods during his career, didn’t mince words during a recent segment on Fox Sports Radio’s Two Pros and a Cup of Joe. He took issue with Goff and fellow QB Kirk Cousins’ emotional responses to how their former teams handled their departures.
“Quarterbacks live in a different world,” Arrington said. “Every time they talk, they sound overly sensitive. I get what Goff is saying—but this is the NFL. It’s a business. If a team no longer wants you, they move on. That’s reality for everyone else in the league, too.”
Arrington emphasized that trade surprises aren’t unique to quarterbacks and that most players face similar circumstances without public sympathy. He pointed out that quarterbacks often receive more attention and empathy than others when their team situations change.
Jared Goff, once the Rams’ first overall pick in 2016, played four seasons in L.A., where he earned two Pro Bowl appearances and led the team to a Super Bowl berth. But just two years after that high point, he was traded to Detroit in a blockbuster deal that brought Matthew Stafford to Los Angeles.
Goff recalled the moment he learned about the trade in the Netflix documentary. He said Rams head coach Sean McVay called him with the news—mere moments before it became public knowledge.
“There was no warning,” Goff explained. “No heads-up, no conversation about possibly being traded. It just happened. And within a minute, it was all over Twitter. That was the first real taste of adversity in my career. It felt like a betrayal.”
Since joining the Lions, Goff has rejuvenated his career, adding two more Pro Bowl selections and helping the team steadily improve. Detroit won the NFC North in 2024 but fell to the Commanders in the Divisional Round.
Ironically, the Rams won the Super Bowl in Stafford’s first season after the trade, a move that reportedly caught both the team and Goff off guard. Rams GM Les Snead later admitted the front office hadn’t initially planned to move Goff but shifted course when Stafford became available.
While Goff has remained vocal about his feelings over the trade, he did eventually notch a playoff victory over his former team in the 2024 Wild Card round—perhaps a small measure of closure in an otherwise rocky transition.
