Michael Brockers’ comments on Jared Goff are—and always were—much ado about nothing

When news broke late at night on Tuesday night that the Detroit Lions were lining up a trade for Rams defensive tackle Michael Brockers, the internet was having themselves a field day. Brockers would be joining Jared Goff in Detroit just a month after he was hyping up the Rams for acquiring Matthew Stafford.

“It’s a level up,” Brockers told TMZ of going from Goff to Stafford.

But facing the media on Monday morning, Brockers said he never meant any disrespect to his former—and current again—teammate.

“That was definitely something—TMZ and inside the airport—it was kind of a fan-booster,” Brockers said. “I didn’t know I was going to be dealing with free agency, I was just trying to boost up the move that I felt the team was doing and trying to boost up the fanbase. I don’t think it was anything against Jared.”

Right after his comments to TMZ went viral, he reached out to Goff to make sure the young quarterback knew he didn’t mean any disrespect.

“Man, bro. I did not mean (for) it to go like that. I didn’t mean what I said,” Brockers recalls texting Goff. “You just know I respect you as a player. You took me to the Super Bowl.”

And to Brockers’ credit, a few days after his comments, he joined NFL Network’s Good Morning Football and went public with his respect for Goff.

“Man, you’re getting a tough player—mentally tough player—that doesn’t let a lot of things get to him, and he has a lot of experience. You can’t take that away from him,” Brockers said. “The man has made it to the big game and played in big games, so he knows how to get it done when the time is needed. So the Lions should be very happy with what they have. They’ve got a guy with a lot of experience and knows how to get to the big game.”

Of course, nothing Brockers originally said was incorrect. The Rams didn’t send two first-round picks and a third-round pick to Detroit to downgrade at quarterback. In terms of talent, there’s little doubt Stafford brings more to the table.

But for anyone concerned that there may be a level of awkwardness or disrespect bubbling beneath the surface, Goff pretty much squashed that on Monday afternoon during a radio appearance on 97.1 The Ticket.

“Brock’s obviously one of my good friends and good teammates. I get it. It was a TMZ interview and he apologized very quickly,” Goff said. “I love Brock. I know how that shit goes on those TMZ interviews and sometimes that happens. But that guy, he’s my guy. I love Brock, and he reached out to me very quickly after that. No ill will. We’re all good and moving forward.”

Alright, moving on.