San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
RAMS TRADE GOFF, DRAFT PICKS TO LIONS FOR STAFFORD
Quarterback swap features two former No. 1 overall picks
Five years after making Jared Goff the No. 1 pick in the draft, the Rams on Saturday traded the quarterback to the Detroit Lions for quarterback Matthew Stafford, a person with knowledge of the situation said.
As part of the deal, the Rams also sent the Lions a third-round pick this year and two future first-round picks, said the person who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the deal.
Stafford, who turns 33 one week from today, was the first pick in the 2009 draft. He was voted to the Pro Bowl once in 12 seasons and is 0-3 in three playoff games. Other than receiver Calvin Johnson, however, Stafford, has never played with a surplus of talent.
Stafford has passed for 45,109 yards and 282 touchdowns, with 144 interceptions. This season, he passed for 4,084 yards and 26 touchdowns, with 10 interceptions.
Stafford has two years remaining on his contract and had salary-cap numbers of $33 million in 2021 and $26 million in 2022, according to overthecap.com. Stafford and Lions ownership reportedly agreed to pursue trading him.
Goff, 26, made the Pro Bowl twice and led the Rams to three playoff appearances in four seasons with coach Sean Mcvay, reaching the Super Bowl in 2018.
Before the 2019 season, he signed a $134 million extension, with $110 million in guarantees. Since then, his production has fallen.
This season, he passed for a career-low 20 touchdowns, with 13 interceptions as the Rams finished 10-6.
Goff sat out the season finale against the Arizona Cardinals while recovering from right thumb surgery. But the following week, despite Goff saying he was capable of playing, Mcvay again started backup John Wolford in an NFC wild-card game against the Seattle Seahawks. After Wolford suffered a first-quarter neck injury, Goff came off the bench and helped lead the Rams to victory.
Goff started the divisional-round game against the Green Bay Packers and passed for a touchdown in the 3218 season-ending defeat.
After the game, Mcvay said Goff was the Rams’ quarterback, “right now,” putting Goff ’s future with the team in doubt. Just over a week later, General Manager Les Snead said Goff was the Rams’ quarterback “in this moment,” indicating the team was ready to move on.
The Lions had several offers for Stafford, and they all included firstround picks, according to The Associated Press, citing a person with direct knowledge of the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because those details were not announced.
Stafford was made aware of the teams who wanted to acquire him, and the Rams were one of the franchises he was excited about potentially joining, according to the person.
Stafford is new to the Rams, but he already has friends and a place to stay on the West Coast: He owns an estate in Newport Coast, and he is a childhood friend and former high school teammate of Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw.
The Rams didn’t immediately confirm the trade, but their official Twitter account tweeted at Kershaw, asking him: “Have you heard from an old friend today?”
The familiarity of these two franchises’ front offices likely helped the difficult deal: New Detroit General Manager Brad Holmes just left his job as the Rams’ director of college scouting under Snead earlier this month.
Detroit drafted the strong-armed Stafford out of Georgia with the hopes he could end the Lions’ drought of just one playoff victory since winning the 1957 NFL title.
Indianapolis, Washington and San Francisco were among several teams believed to have expressed serious interest in acquiring Stafford, who earned his only Pro Bowl selection in 2014.
Stafford was AP’S Comeback Player of the Year in 2011 after bouncing back from an injury-stunted start of his career.
Playing for a team that was often trailing, he led 31 fourth-quarter comebacks in his career and earned 38 victories with game-winning drives.
Detroit drafted Ohio State cornerback Jeff Okudah last year No. 3 overall, passing up on quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert.
The Lions have the No. 7 overall pick this year, and now that they have a veteran quarterback, they may draft a player to improve an awful defense. Detroit’s defense set franchise records by allowing 519 points and 6,716 yards last season, breaking marks set by its winless team in 2008 and ranking among the worst ever in the league.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.