Matthew Stafford opens up about trade to Rams: ‘Always wanted to play in those big games’
The Los Angeles Rams will usher in a new era next season after agreeing to trade Jared Goff and three draft picks for Matthew Stafford. Each quarterback has made the playoffs three times, but despite being seven years younger, Goff has three more postseason wins (one in relief) and has reached a Super Bowl.
Stafford never won a playoff game while with the Detroit Lions.
But as most fans know, that’s not entirely his fault. He played on a lot of bad teams that went through rebuilds and several coaching changes. So, by seeking a split with the franchise that drafted him, he wanted a chance to play in big games.
Stafford opened up about the trade and his time with Detroit in an interview with Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press and said he’s always wanted to play in marquee games and feels he would thrive in them.
“I’ve always wanted to play in those big games, I feel like I will excel in those situations,” he said. “I wanted to shoot my shot.”
Stafford said he never thought he’d play anywhere else besides Detroit and fully expected to finish his career there. But with the Lions undergoing another head-coaching change and hiring a new general manager, Stafford didn’t want to play through another rebuild – and the Lions obliged by granting his request.
“In my mind, I felt like I was going to be able to help us go win six, seven, eight games, because I wasn’t gonna let us lose more than that, you know?” he said. “But I probably wasn’t good enough (by myself) to help us win more than that. And maybe we don’t ever get those top picks that we needed.”
Among the teams Stafford thought he would end up with were the Colts, 49ers and Washington. He didn’t think the Rams would be able to make it happen given their situation, though he admitted he’s not a cap guru.
Les Snead and the Rams front office, of course, did make it work and found a way to land the Lions quarterback – which will become official on March 17.
“I just didn’t know how they would ever be able to (pull it off),” Stafford said. “You know, I’m not a salary cap guru. It kind of got to a point where I’m like, OK, I can’t sit there and go crazy. I just tried to let it happen. And L.A. aggressively jumped into it.”
“Obviously, we were excited for a new start, excited for the whole process of being on the trading block to be over. Now we had a place. We knew where we were going. I was excited about their roster and their coaching staff and what they can bring to the table and their recent success.”
Stafford is going from a team that doesn’t necessarily expect to win right now, needing several pieces to compete for even an NFC North title, to a franchise that is all-in on 2021. The Rams have been aggressive in building a team that can win immediately, as they have done for the last four years.
Stafford acknowledges that the Rams have “some pieces that are ready to go,” and that he’s betting on himself to be the guy that can lift the team to new heights. He and the Rams both hope that turns out to be true.
