Jared Goff Camp Update — August 23: Another Saturday Off, Line Still Unseen
2026 NFL Season · Sunday, Aug 23
Goff sat Detroit's seventeen to thirteen win over Washington, so the rebuilt offensive line protecting him still has no live film with him behind it. The week's line news cut both ways: praise for rookie Blake Miller's run blocking, more churn at center.
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Jared Goff sat again Saturday. Detroit beat Washington 17 to 13 with Josh Dobbs starting — seven of 12 for 74 yards with an interception, a lost fumble returned for a touchdown, and a 50-yard touchdown scramble — and undrafted rookie Luke Altmyer going nine of 13 for 86 yards in relief, per Tim Twentyman at the team's website. Goff has now thrown zero preseason passes, which his coach has treated all summer as a feature rather than a bug.
The protection question that actually defines his year got its evidence secondhand. The encouraging half: rookie Blake Miller's run blocking at right tackle helped the reserve backs to a hundred 69 rushing yards, per Avik Das at Heavy — a second straight positive game for the first-year tackle. The unsettled half is the middle of the line. Center Cade Mays's fractured wrist is expected to cost him eight to 10 weeks, per the Detroit Lions Podcast's press-conference recaps; Juice Scruggs returned from a soft-tissue injury to first-team work, per Jeremy Reisman at Pride of Detroit; and Dan Campbell said guard Tate Ratledge is taking center snaps as insurance — "He's gonna have to be able to help us there," per the Detroit Lions Podcast. Three names for one position, 10 days before the games count.
Back in June we said Goff's stability rests on a line replaced wholesale in one offseason — a rhythm passer inherits his protection more than he carries it — and that question remains unmeasured: he and the rebuilt line have still not taken a live snap together, and at this point they may not until September.
What to watch: who takes the first-team center reps once cutdown passes on Sunday, August thirtieth, and whether Goff gets any live work at all before the opener. We'll check after cut day.
_Data via nflverse._
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