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The Detroit Lions have had a lot of success with the Jared Goff and Dan Campbell pairing. But there's a chance that things continue to go wrong as they did in 2025.
So, what happens to the Lions if the 2026 season is a dud? Well, it might be an unlikely future, but ESPN's Dan Graziano linked the Lions to two very unexpected quarterbacks who could replace Goff in Detroit.
As part of Graziano's "long shot" prediction, he linked the Lions to Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl champion QB Jalen Hurts and Tampa Bay Buccaneers Pro Bowl QB Baker Mayfield as possible Goff replacements.
Lions linked to Jalen Hurts, Baker Mayfield to replace Jared Goff
"Frustrated by their inability to cash in on what seemed like a Super Bowl window, the Lions decide to break things up," Graziano writes. "They move on from Goff and bring in a veteran whose situation elsewhere fell apart, such as Baker Mayfield or Jalen Hurts."
The Lions getting to the point where they cut ties with Goff is possible, but after the 2026 season seems a little bit too early for such a drastic change, unless Goff truly has a horrendous 2026 season.
Finding a replacement might prove tricky, as the free-agent QB market isn't likely to have a lot of good names, and the Lions will probably be too good to draft a QB early in the 2027 NFL Draft without giving up a fortune to trade up.
But if they turn to the trade market for veterans, the Buccaneers or Eagles could be willing to trade their current franchise quarterbacks.
The Eagles could struggle in 2026 and decide to move on from Hurts, as they did with Carson Wentz in 2021.
For the Lions, Hurts would make for an intriguing QB who's a winner, a great runner, and has experience playing in the biggest moments at a very high level.
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Mayfield, on the other hand, is a bit more of a wild card, as he's the better passer statistically and is not a terrible runner either. The only issue is he's a bit more wild and might not be as safe as Goff has been or bring the same big-game upside that Hurts has.
Graziano linking the Lions to Hurts and Mayfield would make for a very strange swap at the QB position, though a shakeup if 2026 is a disaster could be in store.
Goff's future with Detroit is uncertain, and Graziano believes Baker Mayfield or Jalen Hurts could be potential 2027 replacement options for the Lions.
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