Brad Holmes: Lions had several ‘aggressive offers’ for Matthew Stafford
The time between the Detroit Lions revealing that longtime quarterback Matthew Stafford was available via trade and the deal worked out between the Lions and Rams didn’t take nearly as long as many expected. Lions GM Brad Holmes quickly worked out a deal with his old employer to send Stafford to Los Angeles in exchange for Jared Goff, two first-round picks and a third-round pick.
In his press conference on Friday introducing Goff to the Detroit media, Holmes let it be known he had multiple strong offers for Stafford. But in the end, he was drawn to getting Goff as part of the return.
“There was quite a number of teams, not to say anyone specifically, but quite a number of teams that had all aggressive offers,” Holmes said. “So, when we started discussions with the Rams and with (GM) Les (Snead), obviously, that’s when Jared (Goff) came into play. I did think that out of all the aggressive offers, and competitive offers that we were weighing, that to be able to acquire a quarterback at the status level of what Jared has accomplished, I thought that was very, very intriguing from a compensation standpoint.”
Holmes didn’t name names, obviously. But based on the frenzied reporting around the subsequent Carson Wentz deal and possible presences of Russell Wilson and Deshaun Watson on the trade block, it’s easy to validate Holmes’ claim. Teams like Indianapolis (which traded for Wentz), Chicago, Dallas (which re-signed Dak Prescott), Washington and Denver had been commonly linked to talking to the Lions about Stafford’s availability prior to the trade between the Lions and Rams.
Based on the return the Eagles got for Wentz–a younger QB than Stafford–Holmes did well in getting the return he did for Stafford. The Eagles received a 2021 third-round pick and a conditional 2022 draft choice that will be a first- or second-round pick as part of the deal. The Rams including Goff, albeit with a hefty cost to the salary cap, was too sweet for Holmes to pass up.
