Former NFL GM Michael Lombardi joined The Pat McAfee Show recently and explained that the Rams attempted “with a lot of effort” to trade QB Matthew Stafford this offseason.
“During this offseason before … I think it was the fourth or fifth day of the [offseason] when his option bonus was getting ready to kick in, they attempted with a lot of effort to trade him. Any team could have had him,” Lombardi said. “The problem is that you had to absorb the $59 million … and the Rams knew there was no way around the $59 million. They couldn’t get around it unless they traded him and somebody else took it.”
Lombardi added that the Rams are well aware of the cap trouble they’re in right now after going all-in and winning a Super Bowl two years ago.
“Look, they traded Allen Robinson to Pittsburgh for a [swap] of sevens and they paid $10 million to get it off their books so they know they’re in cap trouble. They know it’s tough,” Lombardi explained.
Stafford, 35, is a former first-round pick of the Lions back in 2009. He was in the final year of his five-year, $76.5 million contract when he and the Lions agreed to a five-year, $135 million extension back in 2017.
Stafford was involved in a blockbuster trade that sent him to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for QB Jared Goff and draft picks in 2021. He signed a four-year extension worth $160 million that includes $135 million guaranteed back in March and is set to earn a base salary of $1,500,000 to go along with a $12 million signing bonus in 2022.
He’s due base salaries of $1.5 million and $31 million over the next two seasons.
In 2022, Stafford appeared in nine games and completed 68 percent of his passes for 2,087 yards, 10 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. He also rushed for nine yards and another touchdown.
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