Lions Trading Matthew Stafford to Rams for Jared Goff and Draft Picks

Stafford is headed to Los Angeles

NFL News | Jan 30, 2021

The Rams pulled off another blockbuster trade.

Los Angeles is sending Jared Goff and three draft picks to the Lions in exchange for Pro Bowl quarterback Matthew Stafford according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The Rams are giving up two future first-round picks and a third-round pick in the deal.

Los Angeles was one of many teams to express interest in Stafford over the past few days according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. The team clearly wanted to upgrade at the quarterback position this offseason.

“What I can say is Jared Goff’s a Ram in this moment,” Rams General Manager Les Snead said earlier this week. “It’s way too early to speculate the future. That’s a beautiful mystery.”

The trade won't be official until the new league year begins on March 17.

Stafford, who will be 33 next month, spent all 12 of his NFL seasons in Detroit.

He's 74-90-1 as a starter and made the playoffs three times, but has never won a postseason game.

Stafford completed 339-of-528 passes (64.2%) for 4,084 yards, 26 touchdowns and 10 interceptions this season. He posted those numbers despite No. 1 wide receiver Kenny Golladay missing most of the season with multiple injuries.

Rams head coach Sean McVay gets a veteran signal-caller that has more talent than Goff, who has been underwhelming in each of the past two seasons.

The 26-year-old signed a four-year, $134 million contract extension with the Rams in 2019. He still has $106.6 million remaining on the deal.

Jared Goff has $43 million in fully guaranteed money left on that deal -- $25M in base salary in 2021, a $2.5M roster bonus due on the 2nd day of the 2021 league year in March and another $15.5M roster bonus due on the 2nd day of the 2022 league year.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 31, 2021

The Lions get three premium picks partially because they were willing to take on Goff's contract. Los Angeles doesn't have a first round pick in April's draft. They sent it to Jacksonville in exchange for Jalen Ramsey in 2019.

Detroit will receive the Rams' first-round selections in 2022 and 2023 according to Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer. Los Angeles is also sending their 2021 third-round selection (88th overall) to Detroit.

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