Big news hit the league Saturday night as a deal was agreed upon that would send Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for two first-round picks and Jared Goff.
The Colts were interested in acquiring Stafford but what they offered for the 33-year-old isn’t all that clear. For example, Peter King wrote in his Football Morning in America column that the Colts wouldn’t go past offering their first-round pick in 2021.
The contenders. Indianapolis was very interested. I am sure owner Jim Irsay wanted Stafford to follow in the recent footsteps of Manning, Luck and Rivers. But I also knew when the price got past the Colts’ first-round pick (21st pick overall) in 2021, that was going to be tough for GM Chris Ballard, who’d already lost the youth and cost-control of a first-round rookie last year when the team traded for DeForest Buckner. Maybe the Colts would have done a first and a third, for example, but not two first-rounders.
On the other hand, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated wrote in his MMQB column that the Colts never offered their first-round pick in 2021 but instead offered a package of players and picks.
The Colts discussed packages of picks and players, but never actually wound up offering their first-rounder, the 21st pick.
The Lions wound up getting a solid haul for Stafford. They got two future first-round picks, Goff and an extra third-round pick. They did have to take on the contract of Goff but it appears they believe he could be their quarterback moving forward.
Breer also reported that the Panthers offered the No. 8 overall pick, but the Lions declined. This supports the theory that the Colts may have a potential trade partner with the Lions for the No. 7 pick if they want to move up.
We may never know what the Colts actually offered for Stafford but we do know they would have never matched the offer from the Rams.
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