One of the first things new Detroit Lions defensive lineman Michael Brockers did when he went in to sign his new contract last week was find his old-and-new quarterback, Jared Goff, to apologize.
Soon after the Lions traded Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams for Goff, a 2021 third-round pick, and first-round picks in 2022 and 2023, Brockers told TMZ the Rams had taken a "level up" at quarterback.
Brockers didn't expect the comment to blow up as it did -- and reached out to Goff soon after to apologize and explain that he didn't mean it as it might have come across.
"I was really just trying to boost up the move that the team was doing and trying to make sure, boost up the fan base," Brockers said Monday. "I don't think it was anything against Jared. I even had to go text Jared away from the camera, stuff like that, just man-to-man, just, man, bro, I did not mean it to go like that. I didn't mean what I said.
"As a man, you just know that I respect you as a player. You took me to the Super Bowl, so it wasn't like that."
Brockers figured he'd see Goff when the Rams and Lions play this year. Then Brockers was traded to Detroit, making him and Goff teammates once again. So as he came in to sign his deal, he talked to the QB again and apologized one more time and explained that he had just been trying to pump up the team he was on at the time -- the Rams.
Goff, appearing on 97.1 The Ticket in Detroit on Monday, confirmed Brockers reached out to him and said there are no hard feelings.
"I love Brock, man. I know how that s--- ... I'm sorry, excuse me, I know how that stuff goes on those TMZ interviews and sometimes that happens. But that guy, he's my guy. I love Brock. He reached out to me very quickly after that and no ill will. We're all good and moving forward," he said.
Brockers and Goff now will be cornerstones to any success Detroit has in 2021.
"I understand that aspect, and being a player, you know, if you're up at this level, you're a great player," Brockers said. "It doesn't matter who you are. If you're playing in the NFL, you're a great player, and I never want to comment on somebody's career or anything like that. I'm going to leave that to the media and let you guys handle that.
"For me as a player, I respect each and every player in this league. To get into this position, you got to think you're at the top of the 1 percent of the 1 percent of the 1 percent, so I respect every player and every player's ability in this league."