The Rams apparently weren’t the only team to make a serious run at Matthew Stafford.
Los Angeles reportedly agreed to acquire Stafford on Saturday in a deal that will see Jared Goff and three total draft picks go to Detroit. The Rams evidently made the most appealing offer for the veteran quarterback, but the Carolina Panthers, according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, felt confident about what they presented the Lions.
“So who finished second in the Matthew Stafford derby? I’m told the Panthers, at one point on Saturday, were to the point where they were in the process of obtaining Stafford’s medicals from Detroit,” Breer wrote in his latest Monday Afternoon Quarterback column. “Obviously, things changed from there, with the Rams’ persistence and aggression winning the day. But if you figured the Panthers’ haul for Stafford was strong — the eighth pick, plus another pick — then I’d say the sellers in this equation would agree with you, because they almost took it.”
It appears the Washington Football Team might have finished third in the running for Stafford. Washington, like Carolina and Los Angeles, reportedly included a first-round pick in its offer for the 32-year-old signal-caller.
The Patriots reportedly weren’t willing to fork over a first-rounder in a potential deal for Stafford, but the 12-year pro never appeared to have any interest in playing for New England anyway.
