Jared Goff 2021 NFL season odds: Former No. 1 overall pick favored to remain as Rams starting quarterback over John Wolford

It's all but a lock that one quarterback who was picked No. 1 overall in the NFL Draft is going to be switching teams this offseason: The Lions' Matthew Stafford (2009 No. 1 pick). Could the Rams' Jared Goff (2016) also find himself on a new team? The Rams haven't committed to Goff as their 2021 starter, but SportsLine NFL oddsmakers still favor that to be the case when next season opens.

While there are always ways to work around the salary cap, it's essentially impossible for the Rams to move on from Goff until after the 2022 season because of his four-year, $134 million contract that included a whopping $110 million guaranteed. Goff was handed that on the eve of the 2019 season, and there's no question it's looking like a mistake for the Rams.

According to Spotrac.com, Goff has a cap hit of $34.625 million for 2021 and a dead cap hit of $65.525 million. In 2022, those numbers are $32.3 million and $30.9 million. For 2023, the dead cap hit drops all the way down to $8.6 million.

Goff completed 67 percent of his passes during the 2020 regular season for 3,952 yards, 20 TDs and 13 picks in 15 games for a rating of 90.0 that was 23rd in the NFL. Since 2019, Goff ranks second in the NFL with 38 turnovers. He had thumb surgery before Week 17 and thought he ready enough to start the Rams' wild card game in Seattle, but Coach Sean McVay opted to go with undrafted John Wolford. Alas, he would get injured vs. the Seahawks and Goff did enough to lead the Rams to the upset.

In the 32-18 divisional round loss in Green Bay, the Rams had just 244 yards of offense with Goff completing 21 of 27 for 174 yards and a TD. Immediately after that loss, McVay raised some eyebrows when he closed his press conference by saying Goff is "the quarterback right now."

"Everything is being evaluated. I'm not ready to make any sort of statements with regards to any starting position or not. We're going to have a level of competition in anything that we," McVay continued.

The NFL Network's Steve Wyche added fuel to the Goff fire with this: "We know John Wolford came in and they were excited about him when Jared Goff got hurt and the way he performed, and then he got hurt. So I think a lot of people are wondering if they're going to bring in a veteran type of quarterback to push Jared Goff this offseason. Or at least have that threat there as a backup to see if they can elevate Goff. The people I've spoken to said basically, at this moment, the relationship with Goff and McVay: not great. They need marriage counseling is what one person said to me."

The rumor mill got even hotter Tuesday when Rams GM Les Snead declined to endorse Goff as the team's 2021 starter: "Jared Goff is a Ram at this moment. It's way too early to speculate the future. … Moving on from Jared Goff, that's ... the money we've invested in him, that's not easy to overcome."

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported this week there will be an open quarterback competition between Goff and Wolford this summer if Los Angeles does not trade Goff, who is 42-27 straight up as a regular-season starter and 34-33-2 against the spread. He led the Rams to the Super Bowl following the 2018 season but was awful in the loss to New England. 

If the Rams did trade Goff, it would result in a $22.2 million dead-money cap charge. But what team would take on that massive contract? The Lions aren't giving up Stafford for Goff. Ditto the Texans and Deshaun Watson. The most likely scenario is the Rams bringing in a veteran QB along the likes of Cam Newton, Andy Dalton, Jacoby Brissett, Tyrod Taylor, etc., to compete with Goff and Wolford.

The 2021 NFL schedule won't be out until this spring, but here are the Rams' opponents (without the potential 17th game added – which likely would be against Baltimore but the site TBA).

Home -- 49ers, Seahawks, Cardinals, Buccaneers, Lions, Bears, Jaguars, Titans

Away -- 49ers, Seahawks, Cardinals, Giants, Packers, Vikings, Texans, Colts

Via SportsLine oddsmakers: Will Jared Goff be the Rams' Week 1 starting QB in 2021?

• Yes -400
• No +300

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