The Los Angeles Rams decision to trade former No. 1 overall pick Jared Goff to the Detroit Lions for Matthew Stafford might go down as one of the best moves in franchise history. Not only for the Rams, but also for the Lions. It’s the rare trade that worked out well for both sides.
With Stafford, the Rams won the Super Bowl that Goff failed to deliver. Yet, with Goff, the Lions got back to their first NFC Championship appearance since Barry Sanders was juking defenders out of his cleats in 1991.
The Rams clearly don’t have any regrets about trading Goff; they have a shiny Super Bowl LVI ring to show for it, and Stafford is still one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. Meanwhile, Goff doesn’t have any regrets about the Rams essentially giving up on him in favor of Stafford. In fact, Goff says the move worked out better than he could have ever imagined.
“In hindsight, [being traded to the Lions] was the greatest thing that ever happened to me, for my career and my development as a human. Being shipped off and being sent to a place to die, essentially, is what a lot of people think it was and I was never going to allow that to happen. I’m fortunate enough to be around a lot of good coaches and players in Detroit that support me and help me reach my potential.”
Jared Goff on Los Angeles Rams trading him to Detroit Lions
Well, I don’t think Les Snead intended to send Goff “to a place to die.” He was just looking out for the best interest of the Rams, as all other NFL GMs do with their respective teams.
But credit to Goff for not being discouraged by being forced to join a tough situation with the Lions, who had been coming off a 5-11 season when he arrived. Now Goff has rebuilt his reputation, where he’s also viewed as one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, showing plenty capable of leading a high-powered offense.
Ultimately, both teams got what they wanted out of the Goff-Stafford trade, and now the former is one of the most-loved players in Detroit. Yet, we have a feeling the Rams would still make this move 100 times out of 100 if given the chance.
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