The obvious became official Tuesday.
The Los Angeles Rams exercised the fifth-year option on quarterback Jared Goff's contract.
The move keeps the 2016 No. 1 overall pick under contract in L.A. through the 2020 season.
Goff enters his fourth season with the Rams, and more importantly his third season under coach Sean McVay. Under the wunderkind's tutelage, Goff has improved by leaps and bounds each season, helping L.A. to Super Bowl LIII. Another year of seasoning under McVay portends to another step forward for Goff after a disappointing Super Bowl performance.
Exercising the fifth year on a starting first-round pick is a perfunctory step for teams. Clubs have until May 3 to make the move.
Locking Goff in until the 2020 season provides the Rams flexibility with their free-agents-to-be next offseason -- a group that currently includes Aqib Talib, Marcus Peters, Dante Fowler Jr., Andrew Whitworth and Blake Bortles, among others.
The Rams could look to reach a massive multi-year contract extension with Goff well before the 2020 season expires. As we've seen with starting quarterbacks, the longer the wait, the more intrinsically expensive they become.
The Rams' move with Goff is the latest in a string of no-brainer fifth-year options picked up recently, which included Chargers pass rusher Joey Bosa and Ravens offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley.
You can keep track of all the exciting fifth-year option decisions with our handy dandy Fifth-Year Option Tracker.
