Following the 2020 season, news broke that the Detroit Lions had traded quarterback Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for a trio of draft picks and quarterback, Jared Goff. Since then, multiple reports have surfaced that Lions GM Brad Holmes was close to sending Stafford to the Carolina Panthers for the No. 8 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, and more. In an article that was published on ESPN this morning, Jeremy Fowler mentioned that Panthers GM Scott Fitterer called Holmes after catching wind that he had been snubbed and Holmes apologized.
Brad Holmes reportedly apologized to Panthers GM Scott Fitterer after Matthew Stafford trade went down
In his report this morning, Jeremy Fowler said that a deal between the Lions and Panthers was pretty much a done deal… until it wasn’t. In fact, the Lions had already sent Stafford’s medicals to Carolina for review.
Fowler added that once Fitterer caught wind that the Lions were trading Stafford to the Rams, he called Holmes and Holmes apologized, saying the deal with Los Angeles came together quickly.
Fitterer and Holmes talked on the field pregame and were close on a deal, per a Carolina front-office source, with the Lions sending over medical records of Stafford’s previous back injury.
Multiple Carolina assistant coaches say they boarded the team plane at the conclusion of the Senior Bowl thinking they had gotten Stafford. By the time they landed in Charlotte, word had leaked that Stafford was bound for the Los Angeles Rams.
Fitterer called Holmes, who apologized and said the L.A. deal came together quickly.
“Came out of nowhere,” a front-office source said. “Sounds like [Stafford] and [Rams coach Sean McVay] hit it off in the hot tub [in Cabo].”
Nation, looking back, do you think Brad Holmes should have traded Matthew Stafford to the Carolina Panthers instead of the Los Angeles Rams?
