Report: Matthew Stafford Asked To Be Traded Anywhere but To Patriots

Stafford was part of a blockbuster deal Saturday night that sent him to the Rams and Jared Goff to Detroit

Matthew Stafford reportedly had one request for the Detroit Lions in terms of where they traded him to: 

Don't send me to New England. 

The veteran quarterback asked the Lions to trade him to anywhere but the Patriots, according to NBC Sports Boston's Tom E. Curran. 

The deal that sent Matt Stafford to the Rams rocked the NFL on Saturday night.

And now, for a localized aftershock: Stafford told the Lions they could send him anywhere

but

New England. 

This comes from a source whose team was heavily involved in Stafford trade negotiations but failed to land him. Stafford, of course, is a Ram after Los Angeles sent a huge haul to Detroit for the one-time Pro Bowler.

Wow. It makes sense for Stafford to have demands after wasting 11 years of his career in Detroit. But to ask not to be traded to the six-time Super Bowl champions is surprising. 

The Patriots don't have many offensive weapons for Stafford to play with at the moment, but they have nearly $60 million in cap space to sign players this offseason, which could bring one, potentially two big names into their receiver room. Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones, who have spent multiple seasons catching passes from Stafford in Detroit and are free agents this year, could be some of the players that end up in Patriot uniforms this offseason. 

Instead, Stafford ended up going to the Los Angeles Rams, who traded for him in exchange for quarterback Jared Goff, a 2022 first-rounder, 2023 first-rounder and 2021 third-rounder. 

There is some speculation that Stafford's request stems from the notion that Matt Patricia, who was Detroit's head coach for the last three seasons, is now on New England's coaching staff. He re-joined the Patriots on Jan. 22 after being fired by the Lions. Patricia will reportedly serve a "variety of roles" for New England, according to the Boston Globe's Jim McBride. 

Oh well. On to the next one for New England.