The Rams And Lions Made NFL Trades Great Again
(Kyusung Gon / Associated Press) via LA Times
The Los Angeles Rams have once again shown their animosity towards first round picks by trading for Lions QB Matthew Stafford this weekend, and to be honest I love this trade.
I feel like this is one of the few times in sports where the trade benefits both organizations at the time of its completion, but the question remains of what this means for the Rams, and what is next for the Lions?
What does this mean for the Rams?
This trade tells me the Rams are Super Bowl or bust for the next few years. Great defenses are hard to come by and even harder to maintain. Giving up all this for an upgrade at QB tells me that they are all in on this defense and believe Stafford is good enough to take them to the promised land.
It’s hard for me to disagree with the Rams thought process here. Sean McVay was publicly displeased with Goff’s play, and it was a feeling among the NFL that Goff was holding the team back. Stafford is coming from the exact opposite situation where the rest of the team and dysfunctional organization was holding him back.
Still, Stafford is a 33-year-old QB with zero playoff wins, which is three less than Goff. With all of the draft capital the Rams gave up this trade is most definitely a gamble.
That being said, I’m not sure if that will matter if Stafford is hoisting the Lomardi trophy while the Lions are looking at who to take with both the 1st and 32nd picks in the draft.
What’s next for the Lions?
With a new general manager, new head coach, and new quarterback the lions are entering a full on rebuild. Their next steps are undoubtedly to establish a new culture under Motor City Dan Campbell and acquire top-notch talent from the draft.
I also have to give props to the Lions rookie GM Brad Holmes for taking on Goff’s contract for more draft choices in order to make the trade work for the Rams.
If I were Brad Holmes I would be looking for a trade partner to get rid of Goff because for one, he could get the Lions some more draft capital, and two, he might be able to win you a couple games.
Although people like to say Goff is purely a system QB, he might not be as terrible as some make him out to be, and I wouldn’t want to see Goff get in the way of drafting a real franchise QB in the next year or two.
This is a step in the right direction for both teams. Now it’s just a matter of what the Lions make of this trade. For the Rams it will be Stafford’s performance on the field, and for the Lions it will come down to who they take with the picks granted to them.