The Los Angeles Rams apparently weren’t the only team willing to part ways with a first-round pick in order to acquire Matthew Stafford.
Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer in his latest Monday Morning Quarterback column reported eight teams other than the Rams that checked in on Stafford. While the bulk of those franchises reportedly never reached the formal offer stage of trade talks, the Washington Football Team and Carolina Panthers were prepared to include first-rounders in their respective packages.
“Both Washington and Carolina had offered their first-round picks and then some,” Breer wrote. “The Panthers’ first-rounder is eighth (that wound up being the highest pick offered) and their proposal came with a later pick. Washington packaged a third-round pick with the 19th pick.”
A second first-rounder appears to be what separated the Rams from the rest of the pack in the Stafford sweepstakes. Los Angeles also was able to provide Detroit with a quality replacement under center, or at the very minimum, an above-average stopgap option. Washington could not have presented that asset and the Lions probably would have preferred Jared Goff over Teddy Bridgewater.
Los Angeles reportedly was atop Stafford’s list of preferred destinations, and the Rams, in the end, appeared to make the most appealing offer. So, at least for now, it sounds like all parties involved are satisfied with the blockbuster.
