The Rams borrowed a salary cap-dump maneuver from Sashi Brown to complete a trade for Matthew Stafford. (Fox Sports)
You must have an active subscription to read this story.
Click Here to subscribe Now!
Editor’s note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
Takeaways from around the NFL …
The blockbuster trade of Matthew Stafford from the Lions to the Rams for Jared Goff, a third-round pick in 2021 and first-round picks in 2022 and 2023 may trigger the most volatile quarterback shake-up in NFL history.
In some quarters, the first reaction focused on what this large haul for Stafford does to the trade value of Deshaun Watson, the prize QB of the offseason.
The theory making the rounds is: Wow, if Stafford is worth two No. 1s, a No. 3 and a No. 1 overall quarterback, then Watson should be worth … much, much more.
I think it’s a flawed argument.
The Lions-Rams trade is unique. It really breaks down as two trades.
The Rams paid a No. 1 in 2022 and No. 3 in 2021 for Stafford. Then they paid a No. 1 in 2023 for the Lions to take Goff and his salary cap headaches off their hands.
The latter trade resembles the salary-dump, NBA-like transaction last made in the NFL by the Browns and Texans in March of 2017.
That’s when the Texans dumped quarterback Brock Osweiler and his $16 million guaranteed contract on the Browns for Houston’s No. 2 pick in the 2018 draft. The Browns also received a sixth-round pick in 2017 in exchange for a fourth-round pick.
The Browns were coming off a 1-15 season and had gobs of salary cap room. Essentially, they purchased Houston’s No. 2 pick in 2018 for $16 million. The trade – conceived by the Browns’ analytics department and engineered by then-executive VP Sashi Brown – was hailed as brilliant and creative.
Immediate reports were that the Browns would then swap Osweiler to a QB-desperate team for more assets. That never happened. But the fact the Browns had no intention of keeping Osweiler was verified when they cut Osweiler before the season, leaving coach Hue Jackson with three quarterbacks with no NFL victories on their career record. And that’s how it ended, as the Browns went 0-16.
Ironically, the trade cost Brown his job while paving the way for a franchise breakthrough.
The upshoot of the trade was that John Dorsey, who replaced Brown as GM the next year, used the No. 2 Houston pick to select Nick Chubb. Also, the 0-16 season earned the Browns the No. 1 overall pick for the second year in a row, which Dorsey used to select Baker Mayfield.
So, all’s well that ends well, I guess. Brown is now an executive with the NBA Washington Wizards and Dorsey is a senior personnel executive with the Lions, of all teams.
As for Lions-Rams, the trade makes sense for both parties.
The Lions get a young, experienced QB in Goff who may help the new regime get the team turned around. Goff’s contract guarantees probably assures him a roster spot for two years. In the meantime, they still have the No. 7 overall pick this year to take a quarterback to groom for the future, or they can wait for either of the next two drafts, in which they now have two first-round picks.
The Rams get a capable veteran quarterback for coach Sean McVay to plug into his offensive system and take the Rams to the next level. The Rams obviously don’t care about the loss of two future No. 1s. They haven’t had a No. 1 pick since drafting Goff No. 1 overall in 2016. And they haven’t had a losing season since McVay replaced Jeff Fisher in 2017.
I don’t think the trade automatically inflates the trade value of Watson. But it probably does motivate organizations to use creativity and boldness in formulating a trade offer for him.
The Jimmy G factor
The Lions-Rams trade assures that two teams will have new starting quarterbacks in 2021. It’s possible that as many as 15 other teams are contemplating new quarterbacks through trades, free agency or the draft.
There is one to watch above the others that could affect the Browns’ ability to compete for a Super Bowl, I believe.
What the San Francisco 49ers do with Jimmy Garoppolo bears watching. If reports are true that coach Kyle Shanahan wants to move on from the injury-plagued Garoppolo, which perhaps could lead to Shanahan trading him back to the New England Patriots, I think it would solve a huge QB problem for Bill Belichick and accelerate the Patriots back to AFC prominence.
The only thing keeping the Patriots from returning to Super Bowl contention is a quarterback that Belichick and coordinator Josh McDaniels can trust. That would be Garoppolo, as long as they can keep him healthy. Garoppolo has missed 33 games because of injuries over his four seasons with the 49ers.
If the Patriots wind up with Garoppolo, I would consider the Patriots another road block to the Super Bowl for the Browns over the next two years, along with the Chiefs and Ravens.