Lions trade Matthew Stafford for Jared Goff, picks; A tale of two QBs

It would seem the Detroit Lions have done it. Matthew Stafford will be headed west in his search for a championship. As reported late Saturday evening, the Lions will send Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for quarterback Jared Goff and two future first-round draft picks as well as a third-round selection.

New Lions’ general manager Brad Holmes definitely found market value for Stafford. Unfortunately, the Lions won’t be able to capitalize immediately on those first-round picks and now the waters have just gotten muddier with the addition of Goff.

A tale of two quarterbacks

Jared Goff had fallen out of favor with the Rams just a year after having signed a big $130 million dollar extension. The question is whether the Lions see Goff as a placeholder or an answer?

Goff’s contract would seem to indicate that the Lions are committing themselves to him. So does that mean the Lions will decide to bypass a quarterback in the draft?

Holmes and his front office posse must have a plan in place. Those previous questions have to have already been discussed. Goff has $43 million guaranteed over the next two years, which would certainly seem to make Goff the Lions’ starter over that period.

So when the draft rolls around in April, the Lions do have options. There are a few possible scenarios; the first would be Holmes still selecting a quarterback at number seven if there is one available that they like and want to groom behind Goff, or selecting a playmaker at another position, or trading back to pick up additional selections.

One way or another Jared Goff seems to be the Lions quarterback at least for a bridge period of the next two seasons, while the Rams are not only a contender, but now have a premiere quarterback in Matthew Stafford.

How much this trade was forced by Matthew Stafford’s preferences, we don’t know. Yet we do know he did have a say in the process. The two first-round picks the Lions will get over the course of the next two years will most likely be late in the first round since the Rams should flourish with Matthew.

Rebuilding flexibility for the Lions

The one thing we do know is that the Lions defense is still atrocious. It will take time to be built into a functional NFL defense, much less to become a good one. That means that whether Jared Goff is a good fit or not isn’t as big of an issue as it would be if this franchise was expecting to contend.

It also means that if the Lions are able to nab a quarterback in the draft and decide at one point to play him over Goff, that would give the young protege a chance to play in a pressure-free situation.

Holmes and new head coach Dan Campbell aren’t going to reveal all their cards to us. Where this trade leads as far as the Lions’ quarterback position goes, will be unveiled over the course of time. Suffice it to say that Holmes was part of the decision-making process that drafted Goff in Los Angeles and perhaps Holmes feels like Goff might benefit from a fresh start. We will see.

Malibu Matthew

Finally, the divorce between Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions seems to have come to a completion. Now Matthew will get to enjoy the bright lights and beaches of Los Angeles along with a legitimate contender to surround him.

Matthew’s talents will be used to their fullest by Rams head coach Sean McVay. His offensive pyrotechnics will give Matthew every chance to finally get the playoff monkey off his back, especially given how well the Rams defense played this season and should again next year.

So the die is cast. Matthew should be happy with a fresh start in Los Angeles and the rebuild that was inevitably coming down the pike, especially given Stafford’s desire to be traded, will now take place.

For Matthew, we wish him the best of luck in Los Angeles. For Lions fans, now we have to wait and see what Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell have up their sleeve next.