It didn’t take the Los Angeles Rams long to make the first big splash of the offseason, striking a deal with the Detroit Lions to trade Jared Goff and three draft picks for Matthew Stafford – a trade that will become official on March 17. The writing was on the wall for Goff when neither Sean McVay nor Les Snead would commit to him as the starting quarterback in 2021, but few people expected the team to dump him this quickly.
Given the size of the trade and the price Los Angeles paid, the Rams clearly feel they got a major upgrade at quarterback. Peter Schrager of NFL Network, who’s friends with McVay, spoke to the Rams coach recently and can confirm McVay is thrilled about landing Stafford.
On Monday, Schrager discussed his conversations with McVay, using the word “giddy” to describe how excited the coach is to get started with his new quarterback.
“There is a lot of love in the air and it’s because he thinks he’s getting a top quarterback,” Schrager said. “McVay has gone back and watched just about every pass Stafford has thrown in the past few years and I can tell you after speaking with him, saying on the record, he is giddy to get excited – cannot wait. And maybe this is a knock on Jared Goff, maybe it’s not. But I believe Sean McVay and that Rams offensive coaching staff feels they can run their offense in its ideal form – the way it was meant to be run with Matthew Stafford at the quarterback position.”
"I am going to be very current with this. Very pop cultural relevant, if you will. This is the NFL's version of Rosalia and Bad Bunny. That make any sense?" —@PSchrags on Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford, a few weeks into their new relationship. pic.twitter.com/8PslI1tVe4
— GMFB (@gmfb) February 22, 2021
After the trade was announced, it was reported by Albert Breer of The MMQB that McVay pushed the Rams to get the deal done for Stafford. He even called Rams owner Stan Kroenke to give his stamp of approval for the team to go “the extra mile to get it done.”
So it’s not exactly surprising that he’d be excited to get Stafford on board. His frustration with Goff was visible as last season wore on, and he even publicly called the quarterback out for not taking better care of the football. The lack of downfield shots was also frustrating, but the offense should open up with the aggressive Stafford under center.
“I believe that coaching staff feels Stafford takes them to that next level and takes that team to the next level,” Schrager continued. “I think it’s going to be a different Rams team and I think the quarterback position – when you look around the league and McVay is watching Mahomes and watching Rodgers. I don’t know if you guys and we value Stafford in that way, but I believe that he thinks Stafford is a huge upgrade from Jared Goff and his offense can operate at a different level and a ceiling that is uncapped with Matthew Stafford. I believe the coach is happy, I think the quarterback’s happy, and I think that takes care of a lot of the issues that might’ve held L.A. back a little bit last year.”
The Rams paid a lot to land Stafford and if they don’t make a deep playoff run in the next two years, they’ll come under a lot of heat for making the trade because of the fact that they took on $22.2 million in dead money and gave up two first-round picks.
It’s not uncommon for them to go all-in, but they have to hope this is the move that puts them over the top as a Super Bowl contender.
[vertical-gallery id=645567]