Lions trade Matthew Stafford to the Rams: Everything we know
The Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams have agreed to an unprecedented trade of former No. 1 overall draft picks. The Lions are shipping QB Matthew Stafford to the Rams for QB Jared Goff and three draft picks, including two future first-rounders.
The trade cannot be made official until the new NFL league year kicks off on March 17th. However, it’s difficult to see the trade falling apart between now and then given the relationship between Lions GM Brad Holmes and the Rams, where he worked for the last 15-plus years.
Lions trade Stafford for Goff and draft picks
New Lions GM Brad Holmes promised that he would get the best deal he could for Stafford, and he appears to have delivered. The Lions are getting a huge return for the 32-year-old quarterback. Here are the details of the trade. Lions trade:
Matthew Stafford
Rams trade:
2021 third-round pick
2022 first-round pick
2023 first-round pick
Jared Goff
Goff's resume
(AP Photo/John Locher )
What are the Lions getting in Jared Goff? A quick rundown of his resume...
No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft
Career record of 42-27
Two Pro Bowls (2017, 2018)
63.4% completions
2-3 postseason record, all since 2017
Led the NFL in net yards per attempt and yards per completion in 2017
Has thrown 107 TDs and 55 INTs
Passed for over 4,600 yards in a season twice (2018-2019)
The money
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Borrowing heavily from Erik Schlitt's detailed breakdown on the salary cap implications for the Lions here. The Lions gain $14 million in new cap room by trading Stafford. But adding Goff's guaranteed money for 2021 into the equation is a big cap hit, one which temporarily pushes the Lions over the lowest estimates for the 2021 salary cap, which has yet to be officially established. Goff's contract breaks down like this, per Over the Cap:
Year | Base salary | Roster bonus | Guaranteed money | Cap number |
2021 | $25,650,000 | $2,500,000 | $27,500,000 | $28,150,000 |
2022 | $10,650,000 | $15,500,000 | $15,500,000 | $26,150,000 |
2023 | $20,650,000 | $5,000,000 | $0 | $25,650,000 |
2024 | $21,650,064 | $5,000,000 | $0 | $26,650,004 |
The key figure there is the 2022 roster bonus of $15.5 million. Just as the Lions had to make a move with Stafford before his $10 million roster bonus for 2021 kicks in, Detroit will face a similar situation with Goff in 2022. Acquiring Goff and fitting him into the cap will almost certainly mean the Lions will be making some roster adjustments for cap purposes. That was expected even before the trade, however.
Lions will face Stafford in 2021
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The NFL schedule doesn't get released for a few more months, but we already know the teams the Lions will play at home and on the road in the 2021 season. And one of those happens to the Rams. The Lions will visit So-Fi Stadium in Los Angeles and face Stafford at some point in the season. Expect the NFL to make that a feature game on whatever weekend it winds up being scheduled, perhaps a Thursday night national broadcast. The full list of Lions home-and-away foes in 2021
Full list of Lions draft picks after the trade
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The Lions added another third-round pick in 2021. The exact number of that pick is yet to be determined because the Rams are due a third-round compensatory pick for the Lions hiring Holmes as the GM. 2021 First round - No. 7 overall Second round - No. 41 overall Third round - No. 72 Third round - Rams pick (they currently have just No. 89) Fourth round Fifth round 2022 Own first round Rams first round pick 2023 Own first round pick Rams first round pick
