Stafford Trade Great for Both Rams and Lions
Matthew Stafford has been traded to the Los Angeles Rams after spending his entire career with the Detroit Lions. It marks the first big trade of 2021. The LA Rams were just in the playoffs a couple of weeks ago, but got eliminated by the Green Bay Packers in the second round.
The Lions on the other hand have just hired a new GM and head coach and are going for yet another full reset. Stafford and Detroit mutually agreed to part ways earlier this week. It was rumored that a third of the teams in the NFL had made contact with Detroit about a possible Stafford trade.
LA gives up 2 first-round draft picks and 1 third-round pick along with their young quarterback, Jared Goff.
Rumors were started after the Rams were eliminated by the Packers when Rams head coach Sean McVay wouldn’t guarantee the future of Jared Goff with LA.
It’ll be interesting to see what Jared Goff will look like in Detroit. He has certainly regressed since he led the Rams to the Super Bowl in the 2018 season. It could be a situation like Ryan Tannehill where he was thought of as done and then Tennessee gives him a shot and he really shined and ended up earning a new contract.
As for Matt Stafford, this is a great situation for him. He has a young, innovative coach in Sean McVay where players respect and want to come play for him. He also has a fantastic defense to help maintain leads or bail him out if he’s having an off day. He has players on offense that he can rely on, as well. There is no limits to what the Rams can do with Stafford. It’s going to be a ton of fun to watch them play.
Rams fans should get ready to get a player in Stafford who is a true gamer. His teammates have always respected and followed his leadership. He will leave it all on the field every single game, which is very admirable. He was just stuck in a really bad situation in Detroit for far too long.
There is a downside, though. The Rams continue to give away first-round draft picks like Oprah gives away cars. It eventually catches up to hurt you when you no longer are getting top players in the draft on rookie contracts. Not only that, but they play in a tough division. Russell Wilson and the Seahawks will probably never go away. San Fransisco is a talented team that just had a lot of injuries this past season. Depending on the decision they make at quarterback, they could be a huge contender. Then there’s still the Arizona Cardinals who still have promise with their young team led by Kyler Murray.
With all due respect to the Lions, it was good Stafford got out of there when he did. Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson both retired on them at an early age. And both of those players are arguably the two greatest players in Detroit’s history. Some questioned with Stafford’s injuries over the past couple of seasons if he would also retire at an early age.
Now, Stafford will be completely reignited with a new team, new city, and a whole new goal that was never truly in the cards for the Lions: the Super Bowl.
The Lions take a flyer on Jared Goff, and worst case scenario they cut him in a year without having to pay the rest of his salary. New Lions GM Brad Holmes just came from the Rams organization, which is probably what helped make this trade go through. He may like Goff enough to have him be the Lions future, and then the Lions can use their new draft picks to fill the holes that is spread out throughout the offense and defense, thus speeding up the rebuild.
Although there were a lot of other suitors for Matthew Stafford, LA was the team to put the best package together and also a place where Stafford wanted to play. That leaves Carolina, Denver, San Francisco, Indianapolis, Houston, Chicago, Las Vegas, New York Jets, Jacksonville, and Washington all needing quarterbacks (or at least figure out if they want to move forward with their current quarterback). Possibly more teams such as Pittsburgh and New Orleans depending on what happens with their aging quarterbacks.
All in all, this trade works for both teams. Detroit sends Stafford to a good organization with a chance to win. It’s the least they could do after Stafford gave his blood, sweat, and tears for the team and for the city. Detroit gets Goff and some extra draft capital.
Now the focus shifts to Deshaun Watson and where he’ll be traded to. We’re not even in the offseason and 2021 is already shaping up to be a crazy year for the quarterback position. Buckle up.
