Dan Campbell’s first instinct was to play quarterback Jared Goff on Friday.
Campbell planned to give his starters a quarter or so of work in the Detroit Lions’ preseason opener against the Atlanta Falcons, but Goff’s strong play over the past week of training camp had Campbell reconsidering his decision.
He talked with his assistants and settled on sitting Goff, the Lions’ clear-cut starting quarterback and best hope to turn things around after last year’s 3-13-1 season.
Then Goff got wind of Campbell’s plans and things changed again.
“We really didn’t intend on playing him,” Campbell said Friday.