Matthew Stafford entered the NFL with a lot of praise and high expectations as the first overall pick of the 2009 draft. Ever since, however, he hasn’t found much success despite posting very good numbers.
Stafford has earned the respect and recognition among his peers for his no-look passes, strong arm, accuracy, and more than that: His toughness. He hates missing a single snap and will play through injury any given day.
Nonetheless, other than Calvin Johnson, the Detroit Lions have never given him any kind of weapons whatsoever. More than that, they’ve been middle-to-bottom of the pack in defense since he entered the league.
The Lions ranked 1st in drops around the league with 350 dropped passes since 2009, hence making Stafford’s job quite difficult. Now, however, his career may finally take the turn it deserves, as he was recently traded to the Los Angeles Rams.
Los Angeles Rams Trade Jared Goff And 3 Picks For Matthew Stafford: Funniest Memes And Reactions
The Los Angeles Rams traded away former 1st overall pick Jared Goff, two future first-round picks, and a future third-round pick in return for Stafford’s services, which seems like a lot considering Matthew’s age and history with injuries.
Kershaw driving Stafford around LA pic.twitter.com/LpJnwYz2aR
— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) January 31, 2021
“Matthew Stafford traded to the Rams in exchange for Jared Goff” pic.twitter.com/gk0MkKUfoo
— Rotoworld Football (@Rotoworld_FB) January 31, 2021
Wow!
My buddy JUST sent me this video of Stafford getting off the plane in LA this morning: pic.twitter.com/YxLEBMkFnc
— Ross Tucker (@RossTuckerNFL) January 31, 2021
The Lions have had Barry Sanders, Calvin Johnson, and Matthew Stafford and here’s everything they won with those players during their Lions careers pic.twitter.com/OkyD2BYh7d
— NOTSportsCenter (@NOTSportsCenter) January 23, 2021
Congrats to Matt Stafford pic.twitter.com/rI11cDPSOv
— Joey (@JoeyMulinaro) January 31, 2021
How Jalen Ramsey and Aaron Donald did Goff after the Rams got Stafford pic.twitter.com/zqap3hqfLA
— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) January 31, 2021
Stafford when he wakes up tomorrow pic.twitter.com/UZuhCSRyDa
— Stephen A. Smith Burner (@SASBurnerAcct) January 31, 2021
The Texans thinking about a Deshaun Watson trade after seeing what the Lions got for Matthew Stafford pic.twitter.com/8lIPESQjvt
— The Ringer (@ringer) January 31, 2021
Matthew Stafford waking up as a Ram this morning pic.twitter.com/CJvRK4QNqr
— Pick Six Podcast (@picksixpod) January 31, 2021
Jared Goff: “Let’s run it back next season. I’ll be better.”
Les Snead & Sean McVay: pic.twitter.com/q6afwF9AhP
— #RingerNFL (@ringernfl) January 31, 2021
Jared Goff: “Hey Blake! How did the move and adjustment from LA to Detroit go for you?”
Blake Griffin: pic.twitter.com/f8vHFUpTXZ
— #RingerNFL (@ringernfl) January 31, 2021
Blake Griffin when he saw that Goff was leaving LA to go play in Detroit pic.twitter.com/W27nSQuN3f
— The Anonymous Nobody (@el_budget) January 31, 2021
Jared Goff: “I’m ready to run it back.”
The Rams: pic.twitter.com/WmCgl78PnI
— Oluwajomiloju (@JomiAdeniran) January 31, 2021
Jared Goff right now pic.twitter.com/IGisxilcGj
— FanDuel (@FanDuel) January 31, 2021
In total, here’s what Jared Goff, one average player, had cost #Rams
*2016 First round pick
*2017 First round pick
*2016 2nd round pick
*2016 2nd round pick
*2016 3rd round pick
*2021 3rd round pick
*2022 First round pick
*2023 First round pickAlso, gave him a $134M contract. pic.twitter.com/H7HpvQuZkh
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) January 31, 2021
Sam Bradford and Jared Goff both going down as top QB contract finessers in history pic.twitter.com/tIk9SeC6jG
— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) January 31, 2021
What’s even more ironic about this deal is the fact that, back in 2016, the Rams traded five picks to get Jared Goff. Now, they’re giving away three more picks to get rid of them. In all honesty, he hasn’t been that bad but hey, this business is ruthless.
As for Stafford, he’ll be joining Steve McVay’s quarterback-friendly system and will have a lot of weapons at his disposal for the first time ever, so expect him to have a career-year next season and, who knows? perhaps that’s all they needed to be Super Bowl contenders again, as they also boast an elite defense.
