I just got off the phone with a colleague who follows the Rams, and we both remain baffled over why the Rams would give away the farm for a player as average as Matt Stafford.

I told him that as a Dolphin fan, I would consider giving up a 6th-round pick for Stafford…but only IF Fitzpatrick does not come back.  Stafford is not young.  He’s never really won.  He doesn’t elevate the play of his teammates.  When the Lions have made it to the playoffs under Stafford (3 times), they lost all 3 times.  Some nice individual stats and a strong arm, but he’s essentially an older version of Deshaun Watson, except more injury prone and less dynamic.

The Rams gave away TWO different first-round picks for this retread?   PLUS, they gave away their young QB who just had them in the Super Bowl 2 years ago?  This is a player who I thought the Dolphins might try to get cheap, while the Rams paid dearly.  Truly truly baffling.

I would make that deal for Rodgers, Mahomes, or Jackson.  Not for Watson, and absolutely positively not for Stafford.

Interestingly, according to my friend, Rams Nation questions this move also.   No one is excited to have Stafford come to town.  He brings no Brady aura with him like Tampa Bay is experiencing now.  He brings no future with him, like Burrow, Tua, and Herbert brought to their teams in the last draft.  He’s just a pretty good player who’s had a decade to elevate himself about the “pretty good” label and has not done so.  Even Ram fans who hated Jared Goff are asking, “Why not trade Goff for Stafford straight up?”

I don’t get this trade at all!

 

4 Comments

  1. I agree. I could see maybe giving a second and third round selection tops for Stafford. That’s it. No first round(s) at all and no qb swap either with that deal. The Rams think he’s Tom Brady 15 years ago…sheesh.

  2. It’s hard to say ADMIN but maybe the RAMS were looking at saving themselves some money. $63.6 million owed to Goff over a 4yr period vs two years and $43 million owed to Stafford. But if they have two shitty seasons under stafford and it looked like they could’ve wound up picking 1, 2, or 3 in the first round of the draft… you’re gonna see some pissed off RAMS fans. Right now, I would like to see how much cap room the RAMS have though.

    1. Author

      Phil raises a great point that is backed up by numerous sources. The Rams were looking to save money. By dealing away Goff AND his bloated salary, they save so much money over the next few years to spend on free agents. Getting proven free agents in lieu of iffy first-round picks is not a terrible business model. If Stafford bombs, they simply make a play for a stud QB in 2022

  3. Your take on the QBs you would make this deal for is flawed in that it really depends where your team stands at the time of the deal. In my view, Miami is not at this stage. They are still building and not just 1 QB away from being a perennial playoff and SB contender. If Miami, gets say GBs center and then drafts Sewell, they will have the best o-line in football. Add Harris in the first or second round and you have a great running game. This builds the future. Or you draft one of the high profile WRs and in 2 years if Tua has not panned out, can trade this WR for more draft capital. Either plan is better than dumping all the capital we have for a player that has never advanced in the playoffs, even with Hopkins.

Leave a Reply