Matthew Stafford’s tenure with the Detroit Lions finally came to a close on Saturday night when he was dealt to the Los Angeles Rams in a blockbuster that saw Jared Goff head back to Detroit along with a pair of first round picks. It was a hefty price for the Rams to pay to not only unload Goff’s contract, but also to get a more than capable starter back in return, which immediately vaulted them up the 2021 NFL odds list.
The Stafford trade helps set the market for what a Deshaun Watson deal might have to look like, as Watson is a younger, better quarterback with his entire prime still in front of him. There were a number of teams interested in Stafford, and it appears he was fairly comfortable going most anywhere outside of Detroit, with one notable exception.
According to Tom Curran of NBC Sports Boston, the one team Stafford had on his “do not trade” list was the New England Patriots, who are obviously one of the teams in the market for a new starting quarterback after the Cam Newton signing didn’t pan out as hoped this year. There are a number of reasons for Stafford to potentially have the Pats as his one veto, but it seems likely his experience with Matt Patricia as his head coach in Detroit certainly played a role in that choice. On top of that, the Pats offense isn’t exactly bursting with talent and a true rebuild seems likely over the next few years in New England.
Still, there are a lot of teams with some talent issues that apparently weren’t on Stafford’s list of veto spots, and that speaks volumes about how miserable the Patricia experience must have been in Detroit.