When the 2021 season begins, Matthew Stafford will be taking snaps with an NFL team other than the Detroit Lions for the first time.
That, of course, is because the Lions traded Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams for QB Jared Goff and a trio of draft picks.
It has been well documented that Stafford was the one who went to the Lions to ask to be traded but we never knew exactly how he did it.
During a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, Stafford revealed how he asked the Lions to be traded.
It’s one of those things in life where you’ve got to make a decision. It wasn’t something that was easy for me. It was something that frankly could have backfired in my face. I could have said, “Hey, this is what I’m thinking,” and the Lions could have said, “Well, we don’t really care. You’re our guy for two more years and you’re going to see us through this thing.” I have to give them a ton of credit for their, I don’t know what the word is, open-mindedness or respect for me? It was probably a little bit of both. They were understanding to let it kind of happen or at least get the wheels turning on it.
It was the most difficult thing I’ve ever done as far as conversations go. I have so much respect for that organization, the Ford family, the guys who had played in that uniform before me. There was a lot that went into that that I had to think about.
I told them, “I’m not going to say a word to anybody that’s going to say a word. Not until you guys are ready.” It was vice versa. In this day of social media and everybody trying to get the scoop, that’s not something that happens very often. I’m obviously excited about the new opportunity and happy it shook out the way it did. I feel like both teams got a fair shake out of this thing, and we can move on with everybody feeling good about it.
Both the Lions and Stafford clearly handled the situation with pure class.
