Matthew Stafford Trade Sets the Bar High for Other QBs on the Market

Matthew Stafford is easily the greatest quarterback in Detroit Lions history. He has thrown 282 touchdown passes, passed for more than 45,000 yards, and he’s tied for seventh all-time in NFL history with John Elway with 31 fourth quarter comeback wins. 

All of that success equated to … exactly zero playoff wins. Stafford, for all of his brilliance, was in danger of a similar fate to former Lions greats Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson – playing his entire career for arguably the most frustrating franchise in professional sports and never experiencing postseason success as a result of loyalty to the franchise.

Johnson and Sanders both retired while they were still playing at high levels, and frustration with the organization was a major reason for both. Stafford, at 33 and sensing his years of high-level football are running low, took a different route, asking the organization for a trade in the offseason. The Lions, with a new coach and general manager looking for an opportunity for a fresh start, obliged and shipped Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for former No. 1 pick Jared Goff and two future first round picks. Though they … uh … set their sights higher initially by asking for Rams star Aaron Donald, getting two future first rounders and a serviceable (and younger) starting quarterback for Stafford is a pretty good haul. 

Here are three ways the Stafford trade impacts the NFL going forward.

It sets the bar for other quarterbacks on the market

The immediate fallout from the trade has nothing to do with Stafford. He was one of several high-profile quarterbacks available this offseason. With a 33-year-old Stafford fetching two first round picks, what does that do for the best quarterback available, Deshaun Watson?

Watson is younger and already better than Stafford. He’s signed long-term to a reasonable contract for his production. The Texans don’t want to trade him, but he’s made it clear he no longer wants to play for the organization. If he forces his way out of Houston, the return should surely be at least double the number of first round picks Detroit got for Stafford. Another scenario could have him going to Miami for last year’s first round pick, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and several draft picks. 

Carson Wentz, who isn’t as good as Stafford but is younger, is also on the market. 

Several potentially contending teams, including the Colts, Washington, Dallas, Pittsburgh, Denver, New England, and New Orleans, could all have needs for quarterbacks depending on what happens in free agency or with veterans possibly retiring. That could drive up the asking price in trades even more now that one option is off the market in Stafford.

It makes the Rams a Super Bowl contender

Donald, Jalen Ramsey, and the Los Angeles defense are Super Bowl-worthy. The unit is dominant and has carried the team to one Super Bowl already and to the playoffs this season despite having an offense that is inconsistent. The Rams lost a Super Bowl in which their defense only gave up 13 points. In the two years since, Goff hasn’t improved or shown he can be anything more than a league-average quarterback. Stafford gives the team bigger play potential and someone who can get their skill position players the ball. Goff could never reliably do that. The Rams have a small window to win a championship with their defense in its prime and key players healthy and under contract. Getting Stafford was clearly a win-now move, but it does give them much more potential to contend, especially in a tough NFC West division, than Goff gave them.

It gives the Lions a needed fresh start

The Lions missed a chance to get a quarterback of the future in last year’s draft when they let a doomed regime reach for a position of need (defensive back) rather than draft Tagovailoa or Justin Herbert. That alone could hurt the franchise for years to come, but at least now, with another high draft pick, they can try to get a quarterback who can grow as the team rebuilds if Justin Fields or Zach Wilson. If they’d kept the 33-year-old Stafford, they would’ve had to once again prolong a rebuild – Stafford wouldn’t be around in 3-4 years in a true rebuild, so it would make more sense for the team to try and compete by adding veterans in free agency rather than drafting young talent that needs time to develop. It wouldn’t have been fair to Stafford given how much he’s provided to the organization or to the new coach and GM to keep him around. Moving on gives everyone involved the fresh start they’ve long needed.