Christen Harper reflects on shocking experience of learning about Jared Goff’s move to Lions - “Never heard a single positive thing about Detroit”
Christen Harper was not confident when it was announced that her fiancé, Jared Goff, was getting traded from the Los Angeles Rams to the Detroit Lions.
In 2021, a rare occurrence happened when the NFL world saw two quarterbacks get traded. Former Lions QB Matthew Stafford was sent to the Rams, while Goff was traded to Detriot. Along with Goff, Detroit was to get two future first-round picks and a third-round pick.
Even though 28-year-old Goff had a career record 42-27 while quarterbacking for Los Angeles, his value declined since his instrumental role in guiding Los Angeles to a Super Bowl appearance in 2019 (Super Bowl LIII).
When the trade took place, Goff's fiancé did not know what to expect. Christen Harper confessed what she really felt when she made an appearance in the 'The Morning After with Kelly Stafford' podcast.
“I remember hearing Detroit and I was like, ‘Wait, what?’ I’ve never been there, and of course, I’ve never been to Michigan either, and so I had never heard a single positive thing about Detroit, and so I was really not sure what we were getting ourselves into.”
The Sports Illustrated swimsuit model then said:
“And then of course you get there and I’m like, ‘This place is amazing.'”
Christen Harper and Kelly Stafford supported each other when their husbands were swapped to their former teams
As mentioned before, both the former first-round picks were traded to each other's former teams. When that happened, Kelly, who married Matthew Stafford in 2015, reached out to Christen Harper following the widely covered quarterback exchange.
“I do remember reaching out to you when it happened because I knew the thoughts that were probably going through your head and I wanted to try to make you feel better with the fact that it’s an amazing place,” Kelly said.
In the podcast, Christen Harper also discussed her nuptials that will take place in 2024 and talked about what a player should do if their family is uprooted from their location.
Although the move is harder for every family, the 30-year-old model believed that it is one of the best things because the family gets to experience new things and make fresh connections.
After her husband's trade, he and the Lions experienced a remarkable turnaround from their disappointing 3-13-1 season in 2021 and emerged as one of the NFL's notable surprises in the most recent season. They finished with a 9-8 record.
The Lions are set to kick off the 2023 season against the Kansas City Chiefs on September 7th on a 'Thursday Night Football' matchup.