ALLEN PARK -- The Matthew Stafford trade has been ready to go for weeks, with the Detroit Lions agreeing to ship their franchise quarterback to the Los Angeles Rams for a third-round pick this year, a first-round pick next year, a first-round pick in 2023 and quarterback Jared Goff.
Of course, the NFL being what it is, everyone in the game had to pretend like the deal didn’t exist until the new league year started at 4 p.m Wednesday. Then the league year started at 4 p.m. Wednesday, and nothing. Then 5 p.m., and nothing.
Then 9:48 p.m., and the Lions released a touching tribute to Matthew Stafford. But still, nothing.
Finally, Detroit announced the deal at 10:01 a.m. Thursday morning -- and now we know why there was a one-day delay for a deal that has been wrapped up for two months. Goff had a $2.5 million roster bonus that was due the second day of the new league year -- today -- and the Rams had agreed to pay it for Detroit.
So now a deal that was already very good for the Lions has become a little sweeter. They acquired three draft picks to help accelerate this rebuild, two of which were in the first round, plus an experienced quarterback that can help them wade through the early days of the transition. The worst part about the deal -- other than losing their best quarterback ever -- was taking on Goff’s massive contract. That’s a big reason why L.A. threw in an extra first-round pick, and now even that end of the deal isn’t as bad as originally thought.
Goff’s cap hit will now be $25.3 million this season -- instead of $27.8 million -- and another $25.5 million in 2022. That’s a lot of money, but there is nothing committed to him beyond that. Goff has cap hits of $25 million in 2023 and $26 million in 2024, but none of it is guaranteed.
That gives Detroit a lot of flexibility as it begins this rebuild. The new regime thinks it can revive Goff’s career after things went sideways the last two years in Los Angeles -- no quarterback has turned over the football more times in that span -- and maybe they can, although they haven’t exactly set him up for success so far either. Marvin Jones has already signed a two-year, $14.5 million deal with Jacksonville, while Kenny Golladay and Danny Amendola are expected to sign elsewhere as well. That’s all three starting receivers, gone from a passing game that was Detroit’s only real strength last season.
Of course, there is still a lot of roster building still to go. The Lions have already acquired one receiver -- the 6-foot-4 Tyrell Williams -- and should add a couple more in free agency and perhaps the draft, and perhaps even with the seventh overall pick. Jaylen Waddle, Ja’Marr Chase and Devonta Smith are all in play for the Lions.
If things go well for Goff in Detroit, the Lions have him under club control for another four seasons. They certainly are ready to give it a try.
“I know if something went down, we’d be very excited about it,” head coach Campbell told MLive weeks ago, before the trade was finalized and he had to pretend like it wasn’t real. “That’s what I would say. But hey man, I think everything we’re doing at this point, I think we’re going in the right direction, and it’s exactly where we need to go.”
It seems like a pretty good bet the Lions will eventually draft a quarterback of the future, but the Stafford-Goff trade gives them both more bullets and more flexibility as they figure out how to undo the damage done by Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia.
And it seems they even got a nice little $2.5 million cherry on top of that sundae -- which just so happens to be the exact value of the contract signed by new backup quarterback Tim Boyle on the first day of free agency.
Once again, Brad Holmes looks like he knows exactly what he’s doing.
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