The Detroit Lions could not have put Matthew Stafford and his own franchise in better positions in the trade that sent the team’s all-time leader to the Los Angeles Rams. Stafford was sent to an organization that is a Super Bowl contender with him as quarterback, while Lions received Jared Goff, first round picks in 2022 and 2023 and a third round pick in 2021.
Stafford had an exchange request from Detroit and thanks the Lions very much for making his wish come true.
“What it takes is – and this is an incredible thing (from the Lions) – I asked to go to a team that was ready to win a championship,” said Stafford, via the Detroit Free-Press Mitch Album. “And, you know, there were some teams on that list. Some teams were not on that list. And they respected that and understood it completely. I had thoughts and reasons for each one.”
Although Stafford had a list of teams he would like to go to – he neither confirmed nor denied the report that he told Lions not to trade him for the Patriots – the main objective was to compete for a championship after playing for a team like Detroit, a franchise that won only 79 games since Stafford’s debut year (2009), tied with the sixth lowest number of NFL victories in that period. The Rams have won 43 games since the start of the 2017 season (Sean McVay’s first year as coach) – tied for fourth in the league.
Stafford addressed the idea that he was unhappy with Matt Patricia, who was fired after 13-29-1 as a Lions coach and returned to the Patriots as an assistant: “He and I had a good relationship, no matter what people wanted. say, “said Stafford.
Stafford has the most yards (45,109) in the first 165 games for a player in NFL history and his 282 touchdown passes are the seventh most in the first 165 games for a player. Stafford has the highest number of twists in the fourth quarter (31) in the NFL since his debut season in 2009 and his 38 winning strokes are the second in the league during that period (behind only Drew Brees).
Playing for a Super Bowl contender can be Stafford’s path to the Hall of Fame, especially if he is able to win a championship.