Jared Goff isn’t losing sleep over Ben Johnson’s latest comment, and he’s not pretending it landed any harder than it did.
The Detroit Lions quarterback addressed the brief flap this week on the “St. Brown Brothers” podcast, brushing off the idea that Johnson meant any disrespect when he talked about handling a quarterback with a different skill set than Caleb Williams during the Chicago Bears’ win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night.
“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.“
Some listeners took that as a shot at Goff, but Goff said he saw it differently.
“Ben can’t seem to get out of his own way when he’s talking to the media,” Goff said with a smile. “So I know there was no ill intent to that.
He seems to be a lightning rod for them. They pick up everything he says.”
Goff also said Johnson already reached out to clear the air after the comment started getting attention.
“He called me this morning and was like, ‘Dude, you know that means nothing,’” Goff said. “I’m like, ‘Yeah, dude.
You’re good. Don’t worry about it.’”
The quarterback added that he may have a little payback in mind down the line.
“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,’” Goff said. “And I’ll call him and be like, ‘Dude, you know I’m just kidding.
You know I mean nothing by it.’”
Goff also admitted Johnson wasn’t exactly wrong when it came to his own mobility.
“Probably the lower end of the league,” Goff said, describing 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.”
This wasn’t the first time Johnson’s words have been read as a dig at Goff. In 2025, Johnson made another comment about Goff’s mobility that drew a response from Lions safety Kerby Joseph.
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