Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay, left, and Matthew Stafford celebrate after the NFC Championship NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers Sunday, Jan. 30, 2022, in Inglewood, Calif. The Rams won 20-17 to advance to the Super Bowl. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Matthew Stafford was a bit surprised after the Detroit Lions allowed him to seek a trade to a better team last year.
Matthew Stafford was traded from the Detroit Lions to the Los Angeles Rams after spending the first 12 years of his career in Detroit where he put up massive numbers but was unable to inspire the team to playoff wins due to an incompetent roster.
Following his trade to the Rams, Stafford showed everyone why he is one of the most underrated players in the league as he won a Super Bowl with them in his first-ever season. His relationship with Cooper Kupp helped the team massively as they were able to put up a legendary drive to win the Super Bowl against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Matthew Stafford recently talked about his trade from the Lions to the Rams and claimed that he had thought that he will finish off his career in Detroit. However, he was able to go to the Rams and showed everyone what he is capable of with a good roster.
Talking about the trade last season, Stafford said, “I thought I was gonna be a Lion for my entire career. And, you know, I know you spent time in Jacksonville and got out of there my time in Detroit was, it was honestly like, I loved it. It was frustrating, not winning games. I love the city. I love the fans, I love my teammates, all that kind of stuff.”
He added, “And it was kind of just this perfect storm in my mind. Before that season started I was like this thing is gonna go one of two ways. We’re either going to catch on fire and we’re gonna get this thing going I’m gonna be here for the rest of my career, it’s probably not gonna happen.”
Stafford’s move to the Rams has helped his Hall of Fame case because he already had the numbers for it, and now that he is a Super Bowl champ, he might actually end up in the Hall of Fame one day.
Since getting drafted as the first overall pick in 2009, Matthew Stafford kept the Detroit Lions relevant. Even though the team didn’t perform well in the playoffs. He is a franchise legend, and Stafford claimed that it was the right time to leave the Lions for the Rams.
Talking about the trade that eventually happened, Stafford added, “And when it started going the other way it was just this perfect storm of it was the right time contractually for me to seek a trade it was the right time for the Lions to you know, got a new head coach got a new GM all these new parts and it was gonna be the right time for me to try to see if that could happen. And they were gracious enough to understand where I was coming from and understand the work that I have put in for them and said, just let me get a chance.”
The trade eventually turned out well for both Stafford and the Rams as they were able to win the Super Bowl in their first-ever season together. Although the start to this season has been shaky for the Rams, they will hope to bounce back as they still have a great team, and when they get healthy, they will be a force to be reckoned with in the NFC.
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