Rams hope Stafford will be worth the risk
LOS ANGELES—Gambling is against NFL rules, but the Rams rolled the dice Saturday night in betting their immediate future on quarterback Matthew Stafford, who has never won a playoff game.
Then again, risk is in their DNA.
They were the club that took the decisive step toward Los Angeles. They spent a record sum on their $5-billion (U.S.) stadium. They traded up from No. 15 to No. 1 to take Jared Goff in 2016 — the quarterback they’re now discarding — and haven’t had a first-round pick since. They hired a 30-year-old head coach.
So of course they made a splash move to get Stafford.
Now, it’s up to them to prove it was a smart one.
Houston’s Deshaun Watson was out of their price range. They considered making a hard run at Aaron Rodgers, but Green Bay was adamant it wasn’t trading him. Stafford was within reach, and Sean McVay was increasingly convinced this was the player who could lift his team to the next level — even though Stafford never actually experienced that level with the Lions.
So that’s the question, and one we’ll figure out in short order: Was the problem Stafford, or the team around him?
Stafford has two years left on his contract, and the Rams weren’t able to extend him beyond that. If he has a great 2021 season, that’s a double-edged sword, because the Rams will have to break the bank to extend him, and they’re making it clear with this move that he’s their future.
That was the case with cornerback Jalen Ramsey. The Rams didn’t get an extension on him when they made a trade with Jacksonville and subsequently signed him to a record-breaking deal.
Regardless, the news of the moment is the Rams were able to wriggle out of the handcuffs of Goff’s contract and acquire a highly respectable quarterback looking to make the most of that talent in his second act. Is Stafford worth two first-round picks and a third? That will be hotly debated, especially if he doesn’t make an immediate and dramatic impact. But the Rams had to sweeten the deal enough that the Lions would take Goff’s massive contract off their books.
The Rams upgraded at quarterback, and they didn’t have to go to lengths they would deeply regret to get one. They didn’t have to, say, trade Aaron Donald.
Giving up two first-round picks is steep. But if you figure a Hall of Fame general manager hits on about 50 per cent of selections in the opening round — if he gets two good starters out of four first-rounders that’s a respectable rate — then a pair of first-rounders isn’t too much ... as long as team is getting a franchise quarterback.
The Rams took a risk. There was no other option.