The Rams completed a trade with the Lions on Saturday to take over quarterback Matthew Stafford, and it wasn’t exactly long for Stafford to meet Los Angeles head coach Sean McVay.
According to Albert Breer of The MMQB, Stafford and McVay reportedly ate together shortly after the deal was agreed on Saturday. While the NFL world was responding to a real blockbuster deal, the new Rams duo reportedly enjoyed dinner with Stafford’s wife Kelly and McVay’s fiancé Veronika in Los Cabos, Mexico. Stafford and McVay will likely dive into a movie together in the coming weeks, but more important things awaited Saturday.
“Once the deal was agreed, about 700 miles south of LA, McVay and Stafford sat at the table to celebrate a fresh start to their own lives,” Breer wrote on Sunday evening. “The coach and his new quarterback were with a number of NFL people in Cabo last week – Saints coach Sean Payton and QB Drew Brees, Rams LT Andrew Whitworth and others were also around for the past few days.”
So how exactly did Stafford and McVay get together so quickly? Kelly Stafford is largely due.
McVay is friends with coach Chad Hall, Kelly Stafford’s brother. The connection sparked a friendly relationship between the Staffords and McVay in recent years, and upon completion of the transaction, the two couples came to Cabo to celebrate.
Saturday’s festive dinner hardly came out. According to Breer, the Stafford sweepstakes involved many teams, including Washington, Carolina, Indianapolis and San Francisco. Both Washington and Carolina reportedly offered their respective first-round picks for 2021, and the soccer team also reportedly offered their third rounder for 2021. But in the end, Los Angeles delivered the biggest pick, bringing Stafford and McVay together for the first of many dinners (and arguably playoff wins) over the next few years.
Check out Breer’s full column to learn more about the trade and a lot more about Super Bowl week.