Why did the Detroit Lions trade Matthew Stafford to Los Angeles Rams for Jared Goff?
Fate can be a funny thing.
The Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams face off Sunday in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs at Ford Field in Detroit, three seasons after swapping quarterbacks in a trade that altered the trajectory of each franchise.
The two teams have been intertwined since their blockbuster trade Jan. 30, 2021, which sent Matthew Stafford to L.A. and catapulted it to a Super Bowl title a year later, and sent Jared Goff and three draft picks to Detroit, which helped kickstart its rebuild that resulted in the first division title in 30 years this season.
The Lions, following the conclusion of the 2020 season and coming off a 5-11 record, began a new direction after firing coach Matt Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn during the season. Team owner Sheila Hamp brought in fresh faces with Brad Holmes from the Rams to run the team as GM and Dan Campbell from the New Orleans Saints to take over as coach.
Sensing another teardown, Stafford went to ownership and requested a trade, which was quickly granted during Holmes’ first few weeks on the job.
Here’s why, and how, it all went down:
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