The Matthew Stafford sweepstakes were quite strong a few months ago. Despite his lacking success in Detroit, NFL teams knew it wasn’t because of him. They felt he was a good quarterback who’d been wasted by a perennially inept Lions organization. At least they did the right thing in granting the former Pro Bowler his request to find a new team. As everybody knows by now, that process eventually landed him with the Los Angeles Rams.
That isn’t the entire story though. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network ushered in opening day of the 2021 season with a tell-all column about how the trade went down. It wasn’t short on fascinating details. Though the Rams ended up winning the Stafford race, that almost wasn’t the case. Early in the process when it was clear the QB was available, a different team had positioned themselves to nab him.
“Yet, in late January, one team jumped to the forefront — the Carolina Panthers. They were aggressive. Sources said they actually neared a deal by the time they left the Senior Bowl. Several people involved thought they would be the winner of the Stafford sweepstakes.
Sources say that’s when Stafford — who makes his first start for the Rams on Sunday night versus the Bears — stepped in. After consulting with his family, he made clear that he wanted to go to the Rams and so did his family. Stafford made his voice heard, and the Lions brass listened.”
Wild stuff.
Everybody knows what happened from there for Carolina. They eventually made the trade for Sam Darnold from the New York Jets. A calculated gamble on a former 1st round pick with loads of talent who’d been trapped on a badly mismanaged roster. That isn’t the end of the story though. Rapoport delivered another nugget. One that confirms a strong rumor that has persisted for months.
“In fact, even the rival Chicago Bears made it clear they were in the mix, knowing they needed to offer more to get an interdivision trade.”
This makes it clearer than ever how serious the Bears were about upgrading the quarterback position. It was their all-consuming obsession from the moment the offseason began. Even though the Lions were a division rival, they were willing to pay an elevated price in order to work something out. Matt Nagy even hinted at how hard the pursuit was when he revealed he’d been in Cabo at the same time as Stafford when the Rams deal came together.
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Matthew Stafford was never realistic for Chicago
While nobody can fault them for making the attempt, the odds of the Bears actually pulling such a deal off was incredibly remote. Not just because the Lions were predisposed to not trade with them, but also because Chicago wasn’t on Stafford’s preferred list of destinations. Still, they gave it a shot anyway. One never knows until they try. Not that the team is complaining at this point.
Missing out on Matthew Stafford and Russell Wilson, while unfortunate, set the stage for what happened in the NFL draft. The Bears finally got somebody to agree to a trade offer they proposed, allow them to jump up in the 1st round to select Justin Fields out of Ohio State. Excitement over him has only grown in the months that followed. Stafford may have made the Bears better for the next few years.
Fields could set them up for success over the next decade.
They say all things happen for a reason. Perhaps Stafford opposing the Bears was always his destiny. The two sides square off yet again on opening night in Los Angeles. The QB no doubt hopes to begin his long-awaited journey to playoff relevance with a win over his longtime rival. Chicago hopes to exact revenge for a bitter loss suffered to him last year. It should be a fun time.