An interesting report from NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport adds another layer to the Detroit Lions and their handling of the Matthew Stafford trade back in January. Per Rapoport, the Lions were all set to send their longtime franchise quarterback to the Carolina Panthers before changing course.
Here’s what Rapoport noted about the potential Panthers trade and how close it was to going down,
Yet, in late January, one team jumped to the forefront — the Carolina Panthers. They were aggressive. Sources said they actually neared a deal by the time they left the Senior Bowl. Several people involved thought they would be the winner of the Stafford sweepstakes.
Sources say that’s when Stafford — who makes his first start for the Rams on Sunday night versus the Bears — stepped in. After consulting with his family, he made clear that he wanted to go to the Rams and so did his family. Stafford made his voice heard, and the Lions brass listened.
Suddenly, the Panthers — despite offering a prime first-round pick and Teddy Bridgewater — were out.
The Panthers offer here would be Bridgewater, now the starting QB for the Denver Broncos, and the No. 8 overall pick. That would have given the Lions back-to-back picks at No. 7 and No. 8 in 2021, though no future first-round picks. Detroit scored the Rams’ first-round picks in 2022 and 2023 as well as a 2021 third-round pick and QB Jared Goff.
It’s not surprising that Stafford wanted to go to Los Angeles. The Rams are much closer to winning playoff games than the Panthers. The details of Detroit’s involvement are the interesting part. To do right by Stafford, they wound up getting a much better deal from the Rams than the reported trade details here with the Panthers.
One other note: Rapoport indicates that several other teams were also quite interested in trading for Stafford, including the NFC North rival Chicago Bears.
