Former Lions QB Matthew Stafford Could ‘Break the NFL’ in Proposed Trade

Getty Former Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, who is currently with the Los Angeles Rams, is once again amid trade chatter.

Former Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford is a perennial favorite when it comes to NFL analysts and experts discussing what kind of trade deals could go down before the November 5 deadline. Stafford has been with the Los Angeles Rams since 2021 and led them to a Super Bowl win his first season with the team, but his team is 1-4 going into the seventh week of the NFL season, so it hasn’t been the best year for Stafford and the crew.

Now, some analysts are saying one NFC team could get an instant “upgrade” by bringing Stafford into the fold.

Matthew Stafford Could Help Make NFL Team a Playoff Contender

In an October 17 feature for GMenHQ, writer Doug Rush  states that “Giants fans on social media have made a suggestion for an alternative option for (Daniel) Jones at quarterback,” which is “making a trade for Los Angeles Rams veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford.”

“Once the idea was out there, it became a debate on social media for whether or not it was a good idea for the Giants to trade for Stafford, as the anti-Stafford crowd seems to want the Giants to draft someone else,” he stated. “The others are still supporters of Jones and generally don’t think any other quarterback can replace Danny Dimes.”

FanDuel even went so far to say that a Matt Stafford and Malik Nabers combination would “break the NFL.”

As for whether this is a good idea, Rush thinks it has some major positives.

“In this case, Stafford, who is a former Super Bowl winner, would be an instant upgrade over Jones and if the Giants want to go with the short-term case, Stafford would be a way to go,” he stated. “Some thought Stafford would be an option to trade for at next month’s trade deadline, but with Stafford’s contract to go along with Jones’ current deal, it would be nearly impossible to make it work.”

He added that the “only way Stafford” would go to the Giants next month is if they swapped “Stafford for Jones, but making that swap now midseason doesn’t make sense and it won’t happen.”

Rush also said bringing on Stafford could give the Giants some added time to regroup for the coming years.

“In the Giants case, if they don’t head towards the top of the draft board, a trade for Stafford to head into the 2025 season would give the Giants options for the present and then allow them to figure out the quarterback of the future situation later on,” he said.

‘Jones Would Either Have to Be Traded or Released’

In an October 17 feature, Michael Gallagher of Athlon Sports also discussed a Giants and Rams trade pitch and talked about what it would cost the Giants. He notes that Stafford has two-and-a-half more seasons left on his four-year, $160 million contract.

“The downside of adding Stafford is the Giants would then have two $160M quarterbacks on their roster, meaning Jones would either have to be traded or released,” he said. “If cut pre-June 1, Jones carries a $69.3M dead-cap penalty. If cut post-June 1, that number goes down slightly to $47.1M.”

Gallagher added, “However, if the Giants were to trade Jones post-June 1, the dead money would only be a little over $11M and New York would gain $36.75M in cap savings.”