The Los Angeles Rams will enter the 2021 NFL season with a new starting quarterback. According to multiple reports, the Rams made a deal with the Detroit Lions to acquire Pro Bowl signal-caller Matthew Stafford.
The trade will see the Rams getting Stafford while sending quarterback Jared Goff and draft picks to Detroit. Reportedly, the Lions will get first-round picks in 2022 and 2023 alongside a third-rounder in 2021.
The teams worked out the trade details over the weekend, but the agreement can’t be made official until March 17th, when the new league year starts.
Stafford and the Lions previously agreed to go their separate ways after another disappointing season in 2020. The team made changes in the front office and at the head coaching position recently and is expected to go down a complete rebuild in the recent future. The 32-year-old QB, on the other hand, wanted to go someplace where he can play meaningful football and challenge for a Super Bowl.
Sources close to the Lions organization say that there were “seven or eight teams” interested in Matthew Stafford, but the player wanted to go to Los Angeles. This came to be when the Rams decided Stafford could be the missing piece and decided to increase their offer.
The trade immediately makes the Rams one of the favorites in the NFC. While he never managed to win a playoff game with the Lions, Stafford is considered one of the most talented QBs in the NFL in recent decades.
During his time in Detroit, he broke almost every Lions passing record while posting eight seasons with 4,000+ yards. In total, he started 165 games and threw for 45,109 and 282 passing touchdowns.
The Rams seemed set on Jared Goff as the quarterback of their future, especially after giving him a four-year, $134 million extension in 2019. But Goff’s inconsistency and turnover problems in the past two years started bothering head coach Sean McVay.
Having arguably the best defense in the league at this moment, the Rams knew they needed to do something to get more consistency and production on the offensive end. If Stafford manages to bring this, they may be back in the Super Bowl in no time.
