The Los Angeles Rams have wasted no time upgrading their roster at the most important position this offseason, reportedly agreeing to acquire quarterback Matthew Stafford from the Detroit Lions for Jared Goff, two first-round picks and a third-round pick.
It was reported last week that Stafford had a desire to play for Sean McVay on the Rams, and the deal quickly progressed from there with the Lions willing to take on Goff’s entire four-year contract.
With this trade, the Rams now have what they believe is a quarterback that can get them back to the Super Bowl, supplemented with a very strong roster across the board.
It appears that McVay and Stafford wasted no time getting to know each other after the trade went down over the week as Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reported that they had dinner together with their significant others in Cabo:
Meanwhile, once the deal was agreed to, some 1,100 miles south of L.A., McVay and Stafford were sitting down for dinner to celebrate a fresh start of their own, near the Chileno Bay Resort in Los Cabos, Mexico, with Stafford’s wife Kelly and McVay’s fiancé Veronika. The coach and his new quarterback happened to be among a number of NFL people in Cabo last week—Saints coach Sean Payton and QB Drew Brees, Rams LT Andrew Whitworth and others were nearby, too, over the last few days.
A wild coincidence, to be sure, in a really wild few days that landed Stafford in his preferred new destination and McVay his preferred new quarterback. For both, there are things that they’re letting go of. Stafford’s saying goodbye to the only professional home he’s known in his 12 years in the NFL. McVay’s bidding farewell to a 26-year-old quarterback, in Goff, he built around during his first four years as a head coach, and grew a great appreciation for.
All the same, under the moon in Mexico, this was a time for everyone to embrace what’s ahead. As you might imagine, for those at the table, there was a lot to look forward to.
It became clear after the end of this past season that McVay had lost faith in Goff, so now he has a quarterback that he can trust and open up the playbook for, which should help improve L.A.’s offense greatly.
The trade will not become official until the start of the new league year in March, meaning no one from the Rams will be able to talk about it until then.
McVay and Stafford have a lot of work to do to return the Rams to greatness though, so it is good to see they are already getting a head start on forming a strong relationship.
