Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford is heading to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for quarterback Jared Goff and a multitude of draft picks, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Saturday night.
The Lions will receive a third-round pick in 2021, a first-round pick in 2022 and a first-round pick in 2023 in the exchange of former No. 1 overall picks.
Following news of the trade, the Rams’ Super Bowl odds for the 2021 season moved from +1800 to +1500 at Caesars Sportsbook by William Hill.
It’s the first big move made by new Lions general manager Brad Holmes, who was hired earlier this month from the Rams, where he was the director of college scouting. He said during his introductory news conference he wanted to build the team through the draft. Now he’ll get extra draft capital to do so.
Stafford said following Detroit’s final game of the 2020 season he did not want to get into hypothetical situations when he was asked if he thought it was his final game with the Lions.
“I got two years left on my deal here,” Stafford said. “There’s a lot to discuss. Keep that between my family and I and all that, but we’ll figure it out at some other date, I’m sure.”
He said then he would look back on the season, spend time with his family and then figure out what he hoped for his future.
Stafford went to Lions team president Rod Wood soon after the season concluded and mentioned a trade might be best for both the franchise and the quarterback. Detroit considered the idea, but decided to hold off on finalizing decisions until after the team hired its new general manager and head coach.
The Lions informed candidates of the possibility Stafford would be traded during the interview process and after Detroit hired Holmes and new head coach, Dan Campbell. The Lions’ higher-ups, along with Holmes and Campbell, had another conversation on Jan. 21. The team and quarterback then decided it was mutually best to seek out a trade.
A source said at the time that the Lions would seek out at least “fair market value” for Stafford, who had become the face of the franchise since Calvin Johnson’s retirement following the 2015 season.
Stafford will leave Detroit as the team’s all-time leader in every passing category. He is No. 16 all-time in NFL passing yards (45,109) and passing touchdowns (282), No. 18 in attempts (6,224) and No. 14 in completions (3,898). His career passer rating of 89.9 is No. 21 all-time and his 144 interceptions are tied for No. 66 all-time with Joe Flacco and Steve Bartkowski.
He’s No. 4 all-time in passing yards per game (273.4) behind just Patrick Mahomes, Drew Brees and Andrew Luck, is second all-time behind Luck in attempts per game (37.7) and fourth in completions per game (23.6) behind Brees, Mahomes and Matt Ryan.
Stafford came into the league as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 draft out of Georgia and became Detroit’s starter immediately. Injuries, including a separated shoulder, hampered his first two seasons in the NFL, but he went on to start all but eight games for Detroit since the start of the 2011 season.
When he had to miss the final eight games of the 2019 season due to fractured bones in his back, it ended a streak of 136 straight starts — at the time the sixth-longest consecutive starts streak for a quarterback in NFL history.
“Matthew Stafford is as tough as they come. He’s a huge competitor,” former Lions offensive coordinator and interim head coach Darrell Bevell said in December. “I know he’s going to want to be out there with his team, so it’s going to have to be pretty drastic for him not to be in there.”
Stafford has dealt with a multitude of ailments over the years, including injuries to his ribs, ankle and right thumb last season. He also played in 2018 with fractures in his back and a PIP dislocation of the middle finger of his throwing hand in 2016 among other things.
While the Lions never won the NFC North with Stafford as their quarterback, he kept them largely competitive over the past decade as the team’s first draft pick after the 0-16 season in 2008. Stafford had eight seasons of 4,000-or-more yards passing and a 5,038-yard season in 2011, when he also threw a career-high 41 touchdowns.
Stafford has thrown at least 20 touchdowns in every full season of his career — and at least 10 interceptions as well.
He leaves Detroit as the team’s top quarterback in the Super Bowl era. The Lions are now in a position of having to try and replace him either through the draft, free agency or a combination of both with Campbell, offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn and quarterbacks coach Mark Brunell in charge of that player’s development.