The Indianapolis Colts were interested in trading for quarterback Matthew Stafford before the Los Angeles Rams blew away everyone’s offer in order to obtain the 32-year-old.
While it isn’t clear what exactly the Colts offered in exchange for Stafford—the reports are conflicting—Pat McAfee said on the Pat McAfee show that general manager Chris Ballard told him that Indy was “very competitive” in the Stafford sweepstakes.
“‘Where are we going forward,’ I asked. And [Ballard] said ‘we were very competitive’—his exact words. ‘We were very competitive with Stafford and the Rams threw a bomb,” McAfee said on his show of the conversation he had with Ballard. “‘Good for them’ he said basically. We couldn’t do that.”
This would make sense given what the Rams offered, which turned out to be two future first-round picks, a third-round pick and quarterback Jared Goff. We thought the No. 21 overall pick and the No. 54 overall pick would have been a decent offer. But the Colts would have never matched what the Rams gave.
Again, it isn’t clear what the Colts did offer. Albert Breer of Sports Illustarted reported the Colts offered a combo of players and picks but never the No. 21 overall selection while Peter King of NBC Sports reported the Colts offered their first-rounder but nothing more.
So maybe the Colts were competitive in the Stafford sweepstakes and one of the favorites until the Rams came in and outbid everyone.
Regardless, the Colts will move onto their next objective, which is either signing a veteran in free agency or trading up for a quarterback prospect in the 2021 NFL draft.
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