The Los Angeles Rams paid a heavy price in order to upgrade the quarterback position with the acquisition of Matthew Stafford.
Stafford and the current Rams’ personnel have not crossed paths all too often. Regardless, it is clear that both sides were well aware of the other’s situation at the start of the offseason.
For general manger Les Snead, it began when Stafford was the top prospect in the 2009 NFL Draft. Although the Atlanta Falcons were not in the market for a quarterback at the time, Snead decided to take the quick trip to Georgia’s campus as the team’s director of player personnel.
Snead was among those that were impressed with the future No. 1 overall pick. He recalls it being one of the best Pro Day’s he had seen up to that point, per Stu Jackson of the team’s official website:
“I wasn’t at the Sam Bradford pro day, but probably the best pro day from a quarterback standpoint,” Snead, now the Rams’ general manger, recalled during a video conference Friday morning. “I just remember that pro day that ball was coming out of his wrist with a lot of velocity, a lot of accuracy in it, and it’s something that is stamped in my brain for and it’s still there. You could feel that ball, you’re like, ‘Okay, this is different. This is different.’”
Snead admits that the prospect of acquiring a quarterback of Stafford’s caliber was too good to pass up at this time:
“Put simply, chance to bet on going from good to great at that position,” Snead said. “And especially from where our team was, our core group of players, where they were in their career, the coaching staff we have, felt like it was just too good of an opportunity to pass up.”
Stafford’s status as a bonafide gunslinger has helped him put up some big numbers throughout the course of his career. Head coach Sean McVay will now have a chance to utilize his skillset to kick things up a notch on offense.
There is certainly plenty of truth to Snead’s comments regarding the team’s window to compete for a championship considering they have given up future picks and spent big money on lucrative deals in order to get back to the Super Bowl. Meanwhile, Stafford is at the point in his career where winning has become the top priority and this played a part in his decision to pick L.A. as his next destination.
Snead has since done a stellar job of getting the team back under the salary cap for the 2021 NFL season while limiting the amount of roster turnover. The Rams also managed to shore up some more firepower for Stafford in the form of speedy wide receiver DeSean Jackson.
