Big news hit the league on Saturday night when a deal was struck that would send Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for two choices in the first round and Jared Goff.
The Colts were interested in acquiring Stafford, but what they offered for the 33-year-old is not so clear. For example, Peter King wrote in his Football Morning in America column that the Colts would go no further than offering their choice for the first round in 2021.
The contenders. Indianapolis was very interested. I’m sure owner Jim Irsay wanted Stafford to follow in recent Manning, Luck and Rivers. But I also knew that when the price exceeded the choice of the first round of the Colts (21st overall choice) in 2021, that would be difficult for GM Chris Ballard, who had already lost the youth and cost control of a first rookie this year past when the team switched to DeForest Buckner. Perhaps the Colts had done a first and a third, for example, but not two from the first round.
On the other hand, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer wrote in his MMQB column that the Colts never offered their first round choice in 2021, but rather a package of players and choices.
The Colts discussed packages of picks and players, but never got to offer their first round, the 21st choice.
The Lions ended up achieving a solid achievement for Stafford. They had two future choices in the first round, Goff and an extra choice in the third round. They had to take over Goff’s contract, but it looks like they believe he could be their quarterback going forward.
Breer also reported that the Panthers offered general choice No. 8, but the Lions declined. This supports the theory that the Colts may have a potential business partner with Lions for choice # 7, if they want to move up.
We may never know what the Colts actually offered for Stafford, but we know that they would never have matched the Rams’ offer.