Trade rumors around Matthew Stafford have picked up over the last week and the Raiders are considered among the strongest contenders to land the 37-year-old quarterback if the Rams decide to trade him.
Similar to the situation with Ben Johnson, Raiders minority owner Tom Brady has become involved in the recruitment of Stafford and the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vinny Bonsignore reported on that dynamic this week.
“Raiders minority owner Tom Brady has been in contact with Stafford’s camp about the possibility of the 37-year-old coming to Las Vegas, according to multiple NFL sources,” Bonsignore reported on Tuesday.
According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, Stafford and his representatives were given permission to talk to teams about a potential trade going all the way back to the Super Bowl. That’s an important detail because the longer the uncertainty plays out, the chances of Stafford going back to the Rams do not get better.
“I don’t know how many people know this, but Matthew Stafford has had permission to talk to other teams for over two weeks now. This didn’t just happen… they still haven’t come back to the table with the Rams and worked out a deal,” Breer said on The MMQB NFL Podcast on Monday.
“So that sort of gives you an idea of where it is. And I think really going out there and getting a look at the Steelers and the Browns and the Giants and the Raiders and other teams and what they might be willing to do has cemented his thought that, yeah, I belong in this group of nine quarterbacks that’s making over $50 million a year. So if you’re the Rams, how do you put the toothpaste back in the tube?”
Stafford doesn’t have a no-trade clause in his contract so, in theory, he would have to go anywhere the Rams decide to trade him. But because of the size of Stafford’s contract, he doesn’t need a no-trade clause because no team is going to give up drafts picks to a acquire a quarterback with a $49+ million cap number that doesn’t want to play for them.
What that means is the Rams aren’t necessarily going to have the trade leverage to get a first-round pick for Stafford.
According to OverTheCap, Stafford has two years remaining on the extension he signed with the Rams in 2022. Those two remaining years give Stafford nearly as much leverage in his (potential) next destination as a trade clause would have.
Stafford’s situation in Los Angeles is not the same scenario as what played out between Derek Carr and the Raiders two years ago, but there are more similarities than what it might seem on the surface.
Presumably, Stafford isn’t going to sit back and wait to see where the Rams want to trade him, and he also has no reason to let the Rams drag his (potential) new team into a bidding war.
Teams might be willing to give up a first-round pick for Stafford, but since he is essentially going to have the ability to choose his new team, the Rams won’t have the luxury of getting a premium pick for Stafford if he doesn’t want it to play out that way.
The Rams can’t sit on a $49.6 million contract and sign Aaron Rodgers or any other quarterback they choose to replace Stafford – and even if they could, how long could they pretend they were going to pay their backup quarterback nearly $50 million?
Just something to think about as the situation around Stafford and the Rams, and potentially the Raiders, continues to play out.
With coaches and personnel directors in Indianapolis this week for the NFL Combine, there will be plenty of opportunities for the Rams to speak with prospective trade partners for Stafford. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see his situation turn in a definitive direction much sooner than later.
x: @raidersbeat
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