Here’s the silver lining for the Patriots after Matthew Stafford was traded to the Rams
Patriots fans watched a QB option come off the board when the Rams traded for Matthew Stafford.
The 2020 NFL season isn’t officially over yet but we already have a blockbuster trade that will reflect the 2021 league year. The Detroit Lions traded Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday night, with the news being relative to New England Patriots fans because it was believed the former No. 1 overall pick could be a target of Bill Belichick.
Some fans might be bummed out because Stafford was a logical trade option to help the Patriots get back into contention, but the Lions-Rams deal actually helps New England in a number of ways.
How? Well, for starters, Belichick was NEVER going to pay this price for two years of Stafford. And that’s just a fact. Now everyone knows and we can all move on.
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
The Rams are clearly going for it all, pairing Stafford with their league-leading defense. That’s a move you make if you’re one position away (arguably) from getting back to the Super Bowl.
The Patriots didn’t have an asset in the form of Jared Goff to trade, and we never would’ve thought it also would’ve cost two first-rounders and a third-rounder. Belichick needs to rebuild in a sense, so parting with that many picks likely would have set the Pats back in some way.
Next? Two lesser impacts before we get into the biggest one. First, Stafford isn’t coming to the AFC. We thought he could be headed to the Colts, which would’ve really changed the landscape of the 2021 playoff picture, but now Indy will be looking for other options in a thinner market. Also, now the Patriots can dump this philosophy of getting a win-now veteran and more shrewdly invest in a young, franchise quarterback. We’re sure fans would rather that anyway, because competing with the Bills and Dolphins right now with this roster isn’t going to be easy as early as next season.
Based on Stafford scale, #Texans should end up with 4-5 first-round picks and a starting QB if/when they trade Deshaun Watson.
— Brian T. Smith (@ChronBrianSmith) January 31, 2021
And lastly, if the Jets and Dolphins were among the frontrunners in a hypothetical Deshaun Watson trade (even though Houston said they weren’t moving him), any deal that goes down will cost the recipient of the generational quarterback dearly. Stafford just nabbed two first-round picks, a third-round pick, and a starting NFL QB in return. What’s Watson going to cost? The entire net worth of another franchise?
At the very least, two division rivals probably won’t be getting exponentially better this offseason unless they’re ready to quite literally mortgage their entire future for Watson. We’d like to think that’s not going to happen since both New York and Miami still have plenty of work to do on a number of fronts.
So before you get all upset that a top QB option was taken off the board, take note that it’s actually better for the Patriots given all these factors.
