The Los Angeles Rams wasted no time making headlines this offseason with their blockbuster trade for Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford.
Expectations are as high as ever in L.A. with the arrival of Stafford as the centerpiece of head coach Sean McVay’s offense. Although his departure from Detroit is bittersweet in many aspects, he is embracing the prospect of taking this team to the next level.
Meanwhile, quarterback Jared Goff has a tough task ahead of him as the new face of a Lions team that is still in the midst of a grueling rebuild. Their struggles are a far cry from what he had experienced with the Rams in recent years.
Both quarterbacks are all too familiar with the challenges that lie ahead for their successors. This has led to a sense of mutual respect between the two after Stafford reached out to Goff, per Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press:
“I shot him a text. We texted a little bit. Just told him that I know going out there I’ve got big shoes to fill,” Stafford said. “It’s not lost on me that he was in the Super Bowl just a few years ago. He’s a really good player in his own right. I just wanted to let him know that I appreciate him as a player and obviously, to reach out to me if there was anything he needed when it comes to Detroit, just as far as advice or places to stay, anything. I know that he feels that he can reach out to me, and I know I can reach out to him with anything in L.A. too. So it’s been good.”
Stafford’s revelation indicates that there is no sense of hostility between the two despite becoming the other’s replacement. It is safe to say that both are going to need all the help they can get in the next phase of their respective careers.
Of course, there is certainly plenty of truth to Stafford’s comments regarding Goff’s success with the Rams. He was named to two Pro Bowls and led this team to Super Bowl LIII after being taken with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.
Stafford is now at the point in his career where it is championship or bust, which made L.A. an ideal landing spot for him this offseason. With a strong supporting cast now at his disposal, the onus will all on him to make it come to fruition.
