Matthew Stafford-Jared Goff Commerce Notes: Rams arm up properly now, Lions win larger for later

A wild NFL off-season of potential quarterback moves started with a bang when the Rams and Lions agreed to swap their starting passers-by in 2021.

Matthew Stafford is headed west to play for Sean McVay in Los Angeles while Jared Goff is heading to Detroit to operate under new head coach Dan Campbell. The deal won’t go into effect until the new NFL year kicks off March 17th, but it sets an early tone to drive the QB move across the league.

MORE: NFL QB Carousel – Expect new QBs for over a dozen teams this off-season

Brad Holmes, the Lions’ new general manager from the Rams organization, meets with Goff again. For McVay and Rams’ general manager Les Snead, they are getting a little older and better with 32-year-old Stafford at QB.

The only difference is that the Lions raised other assets in the swap, while the Rams cost a lot more than Goff. This is how retailers rated both sides:

Matthew Stafford-Jared Goff trade notes

Aries received:

Lions receive:

• QB Jared Goff
• 2021 third round draft pick
• 2022 first round draft pick
• 2023 first round draft pick

Aries: B-

The Rams considered that Goff, first choice in 2006, should compete with John Wolford for the starting job in 2021. With that, it made sense to try to get out of his contract and go for a real veteran starter, the best football of his career. Stafford makes the Rams a dangerous passing team again with his big arm and guns like Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp and Van Jefferson. McVay’s coaching will get the most out of Stafford and give him the chance to become a playoff winner, which he has never been before.

Here’s the problem: on paper, Stafford measures higher than Goff in every way, but his resume is thin when it comes to laying a team on its back. The Seahawks still have Russell Wilson, while Kyler Murray is an aspiring leader and superstar in NFC West. The 49ers may also soon do a major QB upgrade themselves as the youngest NFC champions.

Stafford is giving the Rams a higher floor and keeping them as strong playoff contenders, but on the whole trying to get back to the Super Bowl has an overrated ceiling. The Rams, who no longer have a first choice in 2021, gave up two more over the next two years.

McVay and Snead’s plan to do so now has had mixed results, and they are not well positioned for any imminent rebuilding in the near future. Stafford’s contract position is more favorable for the flexibility of the free agency elsewhere, but he also only has two years left on his contract, which means that he is also not guaranteed to be in LA long-term.

The Rams get points for being aggressive to improve their status, but they get docked for being myopic and giving up a little too much.

Lions: A.

Think of Goff as the gravy in this business instead of the meat: if you think of this deal as Lions deciding to downgrade from Stafford to Goff, then you are out of perspective. Instead, Holmes maximized ROI for Stafford – a QB and Organization couple who no longer wanted to be together – and a few more. Goff has been fighting for McVay lately, but a change of scene can help, and he’s also joining offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn, another LA import. Lynn has done a good job with Philip Rivers and Justin Herbert as Chargers’ head coach.

Goff gives Lions a viable option to start now. You’ll have to reach for a QB in the 2021 NFL draft without knowing if Ohio state’s Justin Fields or BYU’s Zach Wilson are still available at pick # 7. To re-sign the Lions number Kenny Golladay for Goff while potentially replacing senior free-agent recipient Marvin Jones Jr. D’Andre Swift, TJ Hockenson, and an underrated offensive line can also help lift Goff.

Goff is more dependent on both systems and personnel than Stafford. To this end, Lions can still receive above average production from him in a donation from Stafford.

Most notably, Holmes expanded its selection for 2021, ensuring that the first-round Lions were selected five times over the next three years. The new GM knew his team had to commit to a remodel to prepare Lions to jump the packers, vikings and bears in just a few years. Detroit can now accelerate its youth movement and store much-needed young talent on either side of the ball.

The Rams’ takeover of Stafford came with expensive opportunity costs. The Lions didn’t want Stafford, got the intended high picks in the long term and a decent QB option in the short term. The Rams can only win so many games with Stafford while the Lions can pride themselves on “winning” the deal.