The Los Angeles Rams could be on their way to making a change at quarterback this offseason and Matthew Stafford appears to be a legitimate option. According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, Stafford considers the Rams a contender in his trade market, and Los Angeles has already explored the possibility of acquiring the Lions quarterback.
Stafford and the Lions have agreed to mutually part ways and Detroit has already fielded calls about its quarterback. Moving Jared Goff is obviously a must, given his four-year contract, with a trade being the only possible way for the Rams to dump Goff; he’ll incur a dead cap charge of $65.5 million if cut.
Sources: Matthew Stafford considers the Rams a viable contender in his trade market with the Lions. While it’s unclear what the Rams can do with Jared Goff’s long-term deal on the books, they’ve explored the possibilities with Stafford.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) January 29, 2021
Stafford still has two years left on his contract, with base salaries of $9.5 million in 2021 and $12.5 million in 2022 – very manageable numbers for the cap-strapped Rams. If the Rams were to trade Goff before June 1, they would take on a $22.2 million dead cap charge but would save $12.4 million.
This season with the Lions, Stafford completed 64.2% of his passes for 4,084 yards and 26 touchdowns with 10 interceptions. He’s only made the Pro Bowl once, but he’s thrown for at least 4,000 yards in eight different seasons.
After the Rams’ season ended, neither Sean McVay nor GM Les Snead would commit to Goff as the team’s quarterback. They gave vague responses, saying he’s the quarterback “right now” and “at this moment.” His time in Los Angeles isn’t over yet, but it certainly is trending that way.
