Going, going, gone.
The Detroit Lions traded quarterback Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
Detroit is dealing QB Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for two future first-round picks, a third-round pick and QB Jared Goff, per sources. Two former No. 1 overall picks trading places in the first blockbuster NFL trade of 2021.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 31, 2021
LA’s new star. pic.twitter.com/RPT9BJ2B9D
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 31, 2021
The deal becomes final in mid-March, when the NFL officially starts the 2021-22 season.
Free Press columnist Jeff Seidel calls the trade "a clear win for this new regime" leading the Lions "because it gives them so many options at a time when this franchise desperately needs them."
At The Detroit News, an analysis by sportswriter Justin Rogers says it's "a helluva way to kick-start a rebuild." A News columnist also likes how things shake out:
This is an excellent trade for the Lions. Some people questioned whether they'd get more than one No. 1 for Stafford. They got two, plus a 3, plus a still-young QB in Goff. If you're against it, you're not paying attention.
— Bob Wojnowski (@bobwojnowski) January 31, 2021
Stafford, drafted in the first round by the Lions in 2009, requested a trade this off-season after the Lions put together a new front office and coaching staff to start another rebuild. The Lions had a 5-11 record this past season, the team's third straight double-digit losing record.
The quarterback, who turns 33 on Feb. 7, has two years left on a $135 million, five-year contract. He has been one of the NFL’s most prolific passers during his 12-year career spent entirely in Detroit, but has never won a playoff game.
The player and his wife, Kelly Stafford, ouyt their five-bedroom Bloomfield Hills home on the market last Monday for $6.5 million (See 14 photos.)
