Expected to play Friday night

Lions coach Dan Campbell suggested Goff and other starters will play about one quarter in Friday's preseason game against Atlanta, Tim Twentyman of the team's official site reports.

Campbell also said the Falcons will play their starters, perhaps making this one of the few preseason openers in which the first units take the field. It's not all that surprising, given that they're two of the younger teams in the NFC, led by second-year head coaches and retread, veteran QBs surrounded by mostly young receivers. The Lions did sign DJ Chark this offseason, and Goff also has a nice array of young pass catchers at this disposal, including WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, RB D'Andre Swift and TE T.J. Hockenson, with first-round pick WR Jameson Williams (torn ACL) potentially helping somewhere down the line. The Lions also appear solid up front, giving Goff a much better situation that he had last year, albeit with similar potential for the Detroit defense to be a huge liability. Playing at home Friday night, Goff and Co. should have the edge over a talent-deficient Atlanta defense.