Stafford helped Rams win offseason — again

Matthew Stafford was once again the prized QB of the offseason and the Rams got him

The last time that Matthew Stafford was available for a trade, the Los Angeles Rams did what was necessary to secure his services and it helped them win the next Super Bowl. Well, Stafford hit the trade block again in 2025, albeit temporarily and without much expectation of a deal, and just like four years ago, the Rams landed the NFL’s biggest name on the market.

We knew that the Raiders and Giants valued Stafford above all other QB options by a wide margin, but ESPN’s Adam Schefter confirmed on Monday that the Pittsburgh Steelers were in talks with L.A. about a trade too and that he was the player they wanted far more than Aaron Rodgers or Kirk Cousins.

Whether or not keeping Stafford is the same as acquiring him in 2021 is more fact than fiction:

• Matthew Stafford was the most prized player on the market, both trade and free agency.
• The Rams gave him the amount of money that he needed to stay and rebuffed all trade offers.

How is that any different than 2021? Will it help the Rams win the Super Bowl again?

What would the Steelers-Rams look like today?

Tying back to earlier rumors that the Rams would sign Aaron Rodgers if they traded Stafford, the two teams would look significantly different on offense today if L.A. had decided to swing a deal with Pittsburgh.

The Steelers would of course have Stafford at quarterback, and given that they also traded a second round pick for DK Metcalf — a move that happens either way — the cost to the Rams is probably their first round pick in 2025. That means that the Steelers would not have first round pick Derrick Harmon.

But they would have the “Stafford to Metcalf” connection.

The Rams would have traded Stafford and let’s just assume the rumors were true and they would have signed Rodgers. That puts Rodgers at QB instead of Stafford, but also opens the door for L.A. to draft someone in the first round in addition to trading down with the Falcons. Pick 21 is too low for receiver Emeka Egbuka, a receiver heavily linked to the Rams, but would this have compelled Les Snead to trade up for Egbuka or Tetairoa McMillan?

Perhaps.

Is that better?

Is a Rodgers-Puka Nacua-Davante Adams-Ebguka offense better than the current one with Stafford and no first round pick? Who they would have taken is all speculation, of course.

There’s also the matter of how much money the Rams would have saved in such a deal.

In either case, the prize of the offseason was NOT Aaron Rodgers. It was Matthew Stafford. While Rodgers picked between the Steelers…or the Steelers…Stafford was wooed by at least three franchises that were very serious about their interest.

• The Raiders instead traded for Geno Smith as a second option.
• The Giants instead signed Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston and drafted Jaxson Dart as fallback plans.
• The Steelers went to the oldest option available by signing Rodgers, who was probably at best their third option.

But what did the Rams do?

Nothing.

And they wouldn’t have it any other way.