Sean McVay sounds off on Jared Goff extension, again

[Rampage]

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At this point, perhaps the only way for the Rams to convince skeptics that Jared Goff will be getting a contract extension will be to just give him one.

Rams coach Sean McVay, whose effusive praises of Goff in recent days could drive up Goff’s asking price, commented again on speculation that the Rams will choose not to pay huge money to Goff, if huge money is what he wants.

“Whether it ends up happening this year or next year, there is a zero percent chance this guy’s not gonna get an extension he’s worthy of,” McVay said, via Mike Silver of NFL Media. “All the narratives out there are wrong. Jared and I couldn’t be more connected, and I couldn’t be more appreciative of him as our leader. He is so vital and important to us and our success. That extension will get done. It’s a matter of when, not if.”

At first glance, those words could be regarded as a literal blank check for Goff, empowering him to seek $40 million per year or more. But three key words limit McVay’s zeal, and in turn keep the door open for Goff to eventually make his exit: “he’s worthy of.”

So what is he worthy of? McVay hasn’t offered up a number, and he surely won’t (then again, maybe he’ll say that next). Regardless, if Goff thinks “he’s worthy of” more than the Rams think “he’s worthy of,” an impasse will arise, like the one that resulted in former McVay pupil Kirk Cousins spending two years under the franchise tag and walking away from Washington.

For the first of those two tag years, McVay served as Washington’s offensive coordinator. He surely believed in Cousins, and McVay and coach Jay Gruden surely would have predicted that Cousins will get an extension “he’s worthy of.” But the team and the player fundamentally disagreed on that amount.

It’s possible that McVay already knows what Goff wants, and that McVay believes the Rams will pay it. But with the Rams content to wait, Goff’s value could go up based on his play in 2019. Or, more accurately, he could believe it goes up more than the Rams believe it goes up, making him think “he’s worthy of” a package that the Rams don’t believe “he’s worthy of.”

So, basically, McVay’s words mean only one thing for sure: The coach wants to keep him around. The broader question is whether Goff values himself at a higher level than the Rams do. If that divide can’t be bridged, it could be a problem.

And that’s the original narrative (at least from our perspective) that McVay seems to be trying to debunk. Until the Goff extension is done, that narrative necessarily can’t go away.