One of the teams with some reported interest in dealing with Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford is the Los Angeles Rams. The dots between the two are fairly easy to connect.
New Lions GM Brad Holmes, as well as assistant GM Ray Agnew, worked for the Rams three weeks ago. Los Angeles needs a better quarterback than Jared Goff to have a better chance of winning in the top-heavy NFC, or at least Rams head coach Sean McVay and GM Les Snead seem to harbor that belief on the outside.
Figuring out a trade between the two teams throws a lot of pauses in the lines connecting those points. Most importantly, Rams’ current quarterback and salary cap with Goff.
Goff’s contract is a monster of an irresponsible blow. He’s guaranteed money for the next two years, making Stafford’s deal – once the highest in the league – seem like a huge change. Goff will cost more than $ 40 million in fully guaranteed salaries and bonuses in both 2021 and 2022.
Outside of Goff, the Rams don’t have much to offer. Los Angeles does not have a first-round pick in 2021. The Jaguars own it as a result of the Jalen Ramsey trade, a swing-for-the-hences move that has largely paid off for the Rams. As a playoff team, the Rams also pick later in each round. Their first pick in the 2021 NFL draft only comes in at No. 57 overall.
They may have additional third-round picks to trade once the compensatory picks come out, but that’s not the kind of return the Lions figure for Stafford gets from other suitors. If other teams offer a first-round pick, as is largely expected, it’s hard to see the new regime short itself out just to deal with a familiar team.
Acquiring Goff, who led the Rams to a Super Bowl performance two short years ago, would at least temporarily resolve the Lions QB dilemma created by the Stafford trading. But Brad Holmes and Co. can almost certainly do better than giving Stafford to the Rams.