Jared Goff knows everyone else loves the reunion story.
Another trip back to Los Angeles. Another chance to talk about the trade. Another chance to rewind the old narrative. Goff has moved on and he is making that clear every time the topic comes up.
It has been five years since the Lions flipped Matthew Stafford for Goff and a slate of picks. That move reshaped both franchises, but Goff is not stuck in the past. He has started more games in Detroit than he ever did in Los Angeles. He has built a new identity. He has planted new roots. The Lions are not a fresh chapter for him anymore. They are the full story.
Goff said earlier this season that he has certainly become a Lion and he meant it. When he looks back on his career later in life, the memories that stand out will come from Detroit.
Not from the bright lights of Los Angeles. Not from his early rise with the Rams. Not from the team that moved on from him and took a swing on Stafford. Detroit is where he has grown as a leader. Detroit is where he rebuilt his game. Detroit is where he feels like himself.
He understands why the question gets asked every time he heads west. Fans and reporters love angles that spark emotion. Goff is not giving them that. He said he does not really think about the Rams anymore and he is treating this trip like any other business week.
The Lions have their focus locked in and so does their quarterback. He is not chasing old validation. He is not reliving the blockbuster trade.
He is not carrying the weight of proving someone wrong. He is simply playing winning football and pushing Detroit toward a place the franchise has been chasing for decades.
That mindset is why the Lions believe in him. He has settled into the city. He has embraced the fan base. He has delivered consistency and control in the pocket.
His journey with Detroit has flipped the scale in a way even he calls cool because it shows how far he has come since that move shocked the league.
Goff will walk into Los Angeles again this week, but this is not a homecoming. It is a reminder that his real home is in Detroit. The Rams are part of his past, but the Lions are the part he cares about.
This is the version of Goff that matters now. The one who has stopped looking back because everything he needs sits in front of him.