Matthew Stafford has spent his entire career in the NFL trying to rebuild the Detroit Lions franchise – he was about to make an update and just found one. In a highly successful negotiation, the Lions sent Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for the Rams’ first round draft picks in 2022 and 2023, a third round pick in 2021, and CBS Sports NFL quarterback Jared Goff Insider Jason La Canfora confirmed. Stafford moves from a Lions team with whom he struggled to make it into the postseason to a Rams team led by coach Sean McVay, who has advanced at least into the division phase and once into the Super Bowl in two of the past three seasons.
Stafford and the Lions had mutually agreed to part ways earlier this week, with the team moving in a new direction under new general manager Brad Holmes (who until the off-season was the scout director at the Rams’ college) and coach Dan Campbell. Stafford goes to a ready candidate on the Rams, who has had one of the NFL’s best saves for several seasons and had already been one of the league’s most explosive attacks before Goff’s setback in the past two years.
Stafford will work on an offensive system friendly to defenders, behind an offensive line that stands out in the protection of passes and with quality pass-catchers in Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp, Tyler Higbee, Gerald Everett and Van Jefferson. Meanwhile, Goff will go to a team of Lions under reconstruction and it may not be long for Detroit, given his contract status.
The Rams signed a $ 130 million contract extension with Goff for four years after his third season in the NFL, and will suffer a significant drop in his books after making this deal. Goff will have $ 22.2 million in LA books in 2021 while playing for Detroit, while the Rams inherit the two years and $ 43 million remaining in the Stafford contract. An additional note to be added about Stafford’s contract with the Rams came from Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network. Stafford is not expected to require an extension of the contract as part of this deal. He will play the remaining two years for $ 34 million under his contract with Rams.
Likewise, Stafford will have $ 17.8 million in Lions books in 2021, and Detroit will inherit the four years and $ 106.6 million remaining in Goff’s business. Crucially, however, there is no guaranteed money left in Goff’s contract, so Lions may stop working with him after this season, if they so wish.
The Rams, after switching to Stafford, will spend seven consecutive seasons without making a choice in the first round. They traded their first places in 2016 and 2017 to move up to Goff in the 2016 draft. They traded the first round of 2018 for wide receiver Brandin Cooks, the first round of 2019 for the Falcons for the second and third round choices, and the first round of 2020 and 2021 by the Jaguars by Jalen Ramsey. So Stafford had better be worth the price, because the Rams continue to mortgage their future to succeed in the short term.
Stafford – who spent a decade in Detroit and left as the Lions’ all-time leader in submissions (3,898) passing yards (45,109), passing touchdowns (282) and quarterback wins (74) – took the franchise to three playoffs appearances in his tenure, but the team failed to win a playoff game, going 0-3. The Rams will say he will be much more successful in Los Angeles than in Detroit. They have the roster to prepare you for that success, having made the playoffs in three of the four seasons under Sean McVay and advancing to the Super Bowl in 2018 before falling to the New England Patriots.
Goff’s struggles over the past two seasons have led the team to step back, losing the playoffs in 2019 and being eliminated in the first round in 2020. This setback sparked interest in finding a way to move on and update on Goff, that they did with this trade.
For Goff, it is an unceremonious end to his term with the Rams. He struggled hard in 2019 and parts of 2020 and was not named the team’s wild card holder, despite feeling he was healthy enough to play just a few weeks after breaking his thumb. Goff ended up entering the game due to an injury by titleholder John Wolford and led the team to victory over division rival Seahawks, but was unable to move on with another over the Green Bay Packers the following week.
Now, just two seasons away from taking his team to the Super Bowl, he was traded and saw his team pay a significant premium to put someone else at the center. He will have a chance to reestablish himself in Detroit under Campbell and new offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn, but with the team clearly entering the early stages of a reconstruction and his onerous contract, he will have to take a significant step forward to gain a place in the plans long-term impact of the team. Otherwise, he may find himself on the open market next season.