Matthew Stafford didn’t necessarily handpick his next team, but he did have a say where he’d ultimately land.
In the process, he might have given us an inside look at how NFL players currently view the New England Patriots.
The Detroit Lions agreed to send Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams, a move that will become official when the 2021 league year begins next month. Stafford, a 12-year veteran, understandably made winning his top priority in finding a new home.
After the trade reportedly was agreed to, one report indicated Stafford had no real interest in going to the Patriots. Some believed that might have to do with ex-Lions coach Matt Patricia being on New England’s coaching staff, but it might have had more to do with the Patriots’ current standing.
In an interview with the Detroit Free Press, Stafford didn’t confirm he avoided the Patriots, but what he said might have been just as damning.
“What’s accurate is — and this is an incredible thing (by the Lions) — I asked to go to a team that was ready to win a championship,” Stafford told the Free Press, per Pro Football Talk. “And, you know, there are a few teams on that list. There were a few teams that were not on that list. And they were respectful of that and understood completely. I had thoughts and reasons for each one of them.”
Luckily for the Patriots, though, Stafford is far from the only quarterback on the market this spring. There could be unprecedented QB movement, and there are still plenty of dominoes left to fall. It will be fascinating to see how New England goes about finding its new quarterback, a search that became even more interesting after Tom Brady won a Super Bowl in his first season away from Foxboro.
That Brady was able to find success so quickly without Bill Belichick and everything that comes supposedly with the Patriots might lead to more players wondering just how good their championship prospects would be in New England.
