After 12 seasons, the Detroit Lions and quarterback Matthew Stafford agree it is time to part ways. In many fans’ hearts, Stafford is irreplaceable, but at the end of the day, it is business. This man gave Detroit everything he had and laid it out on the line every time he took the field wearing the Honolulu Blue.
He battled and played through gruesome injuries even when he knew they had zero shot at making the playoffs or winning the game. He is a true inspiration and hero, and he will be loved and remembered in the city of Detroit forever.
Now, the big question people are asking is did the Lions get what they deserved for him? He was traded to the Los Angeles Rams for this year’s third-round draft pick and two future first-rounders and quarterback Jared Goff.
Well, a consistent top ten quarterback in the NFL who is turning 33 in a week who can easily deliver a team a Super Bowl is worth a lot. If Stafford is the Rams’ last piece to the puzzle to get them over the hump and into Super Bowl contenders, then he is well worth it despite his age being a factor to many folks.
Let us investigate some big trades that have happened in the past few years. In 2019, the Miami Dolphins traded a 2020 fourth-round draft pick and 2021 seventh-rounder with safety Minkah Fitzpatrick to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a 2020 first and fifth-round draft pick and a 2021 sixth-rounder.
In 2020, the New York Jets traded a 2022 fourth-round draft pick and safety Jamal Adams to the Seattle Seahawks for safety Bradley McDougald, a 2021 first and third-round draft pick, and a 2022 first-rounder.
The quarterback position is arguably one of the most important positions in football and if some safety’s in the past few years are getting those kinds of returns then it should seem like the Lions may have hit the jackpot with the future draft picks and a young 26-year-old quarterback acquired from the Rams.
Despite many people’s opinions on the kind of quarterback Jared Goff is, he does have the intangibles to possibly become the next franchise quarterback for Detroit, but time will tell on what the front office decides to do with his inconvenient expensive contract.
The new general manager of the lions, Brad Holmes set the tone of this new regime by getting a haul for Stafford from his former team. The Lions did the right thing by sending him to a destination where he prefers and where he can make a run to the Super Bowl. In return, Detroit has multiple first-rounders to get the talent that is needed to set the foundation for the rebuild or as head coach Dan Campbell calls it, a “retool” of the new-look Detroit Lions.