The Los Angeles Rams have not started the 2024 season as they would have hoped to say the least. While it may have been expected to an extent for them to lose Week 1 at Detroit, getting blown out to the Arizona Cardinals to fall to 0-2 didn’t seem to be in the cards. However, that is exactly what happened.
Since 2019, only 4.9 percent of teams to start 0-2 have made the playoffs. Still, the Rams season is far from over. With an extra week there is plenty of time to turn things around. Being 0-2 means that the answers simply need to be found quickly. With that said, the overreactions have started to say the least. That was the case when the Rams went 5-12 in 2022 and it should be no surprise that it is happening again.
With the Rams sitting at 0-2, the questions have already started on whether or not they should trade their starting quarterback. Those conversations have only heightened after the Miami Dolphins put Tua Tagovailoa on injured reserve and the Carolina Panthers benching former number one overall pick Bryce Young.
Chase Daniel proposed a three team trade between the Rams, Dolphins, and Panthers. In the trade, the Rams would be giving up Stafford and his contract and giving up a third round pick. Said Daniel,
“I’m going to go outside the box. I think the Dolphins should not go after Bryce Young. They should go after Matthew Stafford. Three team trade. Bryce needs to be traded to the Rams for Stafford going back to the Dolphins in a three team trade. The Rams get Bryce Young. You tell me Young can’t be successful in a scheme like Sean McVay’s? Absolutely he can. The Panthers get some picks…And then the Dolphins get Matthew Stafford. If you are selling high on a consensus top-8 quarterback and the Dolphins are getting an excellent quarterback. But the Rams, I thought it was time to blow it up after the Super Bowl. The Rams get Bryce Young – McVay do your genius. I understand McVay and Stafford are boys, but at the end of the day I just think this makes a lot of sense.”
https://twitter.com/ChaseDaniel/status/1836427208036094194?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1836427208036094194%7Ctwgr%5E108671d0058e025758caa1fcb93667292101fe7d%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.turfshowtimes.com%2F2024%2F9%2F19%2F24248557%2Frams-matthew-stafford-trade-rumors-dolphins-tua-injury
While the trade that Daniel proposed is a little crazy, it does bring up a question that the Rams may need to answer at some point over the next few weeks. At what point should they consider trading Stafford and how much would it take?
If the Rams lose to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, they would fall to 0-3 with a game in Chicago against the Bears on deck. That game will be at 10 a.m. PT and the Rams haven’t won in Chicago since 2003. It is well within the realm of possibilities that the Rams don’t turn this around in the way that many would hope that they do. In that case, some very difficult conversations are going to have to be had. Do they just scrap 2024 and move on to 2025? Contrarily, after Aaron Donald retired and Kupp injured once again, do they just embrace the re-build?
This isn’t to say that the Rams should just accept any offer for Stafford. Giving up a third round pick like Daniel suggests for a player like Young doesn’t make any sense. Unlike past trades that the Rams have executed in the past, they would hold all of the leverage. That’s especially the case with a team like the Dolphins, who have Super Bowl aspirations.
We know last year that the New York Jets called the Rams to see if Matthew Stafford would be available in a trade. At that time, talks were brief and more exploratory than anything. As described by NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, “The Rams were adamant Stafford wasn’t going anywhere with L.A. showing no willingness to do a deal.”
However, a lot has changed in a year. This past offseason, the Rams and Stafford were close to a standoff when it came to his contract. The two sides got a deal done at the last minute. After the fact, head coach Sean McVay said, “There were some real conversations that existed that I think were really healthy for us to be able to move forward in the right direction.”
The two sides are taking their relationship year-by-year. Stafford’s re-worked contract was essentially a one-year, $40M deal. There is no commitment from either side beyond this season.
Even if the Rams don’t trade Stafford in-season, he could decide that he wants to play elsewhere next year. At this point in Stafford’s career, it’s obvious what he wants and that’s Super Bowl trophies. The only way that he gets into the Hall of Fame is with another deep playoff run or two. If he doesn’t think that the Rams can surround him with a roster that can accomplish that, he could decide to move on to somewhere else.
To be clear, this isn’t to say that the Rams should trade Stafford. However, it’s possible that this season gets to the point where that does become a conversation. The Rams front office at least has to be ready for that.
Again, in this case the Rams should have leverage in any trade talks. If a team like the Dolphins want Stafford, there is more pressure on them to get a deal done so that they can compete than for the Rams. Los Angeles won’t want to simply give Stafford away.
While Stafford is aging, he is still a top-6ish quarterback in the NFL. In 2023, the Jets swapped first round picks with the Green Bay Packers and also traded their second-round pick, a sixth-round pick, and a conditional pick the next year that could become a first round selection. Rodgers was 39 at the time. That should be the template for any Stafford trade. The Rams should require multiple first round picks or close to it so that they have assets that can be used in a rebuild to quickly improve the roster.
With the Rams sitting at 0-2, there are going to be crazy ideas thrown out there. However, if the season continues to snowball, these are conversations that will need to be had. The Rams may still be looking to compete in 2025, but at what point should they just concede to the re-build like the Detroit Lions did back in 2021?
The Rams got what they wanted when they traded for Stafford. McVay and the Rams beat the Cincinnati Bengals to win the Lombardi Trophy and made it mission accomplished. Is it worth trying to squeeze out potentially one more run that may or may not happen in 2025 or fast forward to the inevitable?
Hopefully it doesn’t come to that and the Rams pull off the upset against the 49ers on Sunday. Nobody wants to see Stafford playing for another team. This isn’t even me advocating for the Rams to trade their starting quarterback. With that said, there has to be a point where they consider it if the price is right.
