Matthew Stafford Trade

Photo+Courtesy+of+NFL.com

Photo Courtesy of NFL.com

Kody Bartose

On January 30th 2021, one of the biggest trades went down for the season. This trade went down between the Detroit Lions and the Los Angeles Rams. During the off season, Matthew Stafford said that he wanted to part ways with the Lions after having a tough season going 5-11 and being last in their division. The Lions during this season also cut their head coach Matt Patricia after having a record of 0-5 to start off the season. Matt Patricia then moved on from the Lions and went right back to the team that he was on before, The New England Patriots. He was the former defensive coordinator and won a super bowl with them. He is looking to return to the Patriots for the first time since 2018, he has been in the organization since 2004.

The trade was a shocker around the NFL news as it was announced January 30th at 10:00 pm. The Lions traded away Matthew Stafford for Jared Goff, two first round picks, and a third- round pick. There were many talks about the Rams going to end up getting rid of Jared Goff who is the former number 1 overall pick in the 2016 draft. Jared Goff has 18,000 career passing yards and 107 passing TDs within the 4 total seasons he has played with the Rams. In 2018 Jared Goff and the Rams went 13-3 in the regular season and ended up losing in the Super Bowl to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. Jared Goff in the 2020 season had statistically his worst season with only throwing for 3,950 yards and only 20 passing touchdowns. 

Photo Courtesy of Detroit Lions

Matthew Stafford has played with the Lions for 12 seasons and was the 1st overall pick in the 2009 draft. He has thrown for 45,100 passing yards and 282 passing touchdowns in his career. While Stafford has been in the NFL, he has only made the playoffs 3 times and has never won a single game. This past season Stafford had 4,084 passing yards with 26 passing touchdowns while leading the team to a 5-11 record. Stafford is a very competitive player that will be willing to throw his body out there and do anything to make his team win. Stafford will more than likely fit in very well with the Rams because he has Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods, and Josh Reynolds. When Stafford was on the Lions he only had Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones Jr which they struggled to stay healthy each season that they played. 

This trade plays a big factor in both the NFC West and the NFC North. It makes both divisions more competitive on the offensive side of the ball. Matthew Stafford is determined to play for a different team and try to win with his new threats on offense. Jared Goff is looking to make a statement by turning around a franchise that has only had 12 playoff appearances in 61 total seasons. Jared Goff has shown that he is a player that can lead a team to the playoffs and even the Super Bowl. Matthew Stafford is going to try and show that if he has good enough threats on offense, he can prove that he is a playoff caliber player that won’t break under the pressure of the playoffs. The question still remains, who won the trade?