Matthew Stafford texted Jared Goff after trade, calls him 'a really good player'
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theramswire.usatoday.com]
Cameron DaSilva
Jared Goff and Matthew Stafford are set to trade places when the new league year begins on March 17, which is the day the Rams’ and Lions’ blockbuster trade will become official. The Rams struck a deal with Detroit by sending Goff and three draft picks in exchange for Stafford, making a huge change at quarterback despite Goff still having four years left on his deal.
After the trade was announced and reported, Stafford reached out to Goff and the two texted a bit. Stafford told Goff that he appreciates him as a player and let him know that if there’s anything he needs when it comes to navigating life in Detroit, he’ll help any way he can.
“I shot him a text. We texted a little bit. Just told him that I know going out there, I’ve got big shoes to fill,” Stafford said on the Mitch Albom Show. “It’s not lost on me that he was in the Super Bowl just a few years ago, so he’s a really good player in his own right. I just wanted to let him know that I appreciate him as a player and obviously, to reach out to me if there was anything he needed when it comes to Detroit – just as far as advice or places to stay, anything. I know that he feels that he can reach out to me, and I know I can reach out to him with anything in L.A. too. So it’s been good.”
Stafford has spent the last 12 years of his life in Detroit after being the No. 1 overall pick in 2009, so he knows the city inside and out. Goff grew up in California, albeit in the Bay Area before moving down to Southern California after the Rams drafted him.
Stafford has been out to L.A. before and he’s “heard some horror stories” about the traffic there, so he’s hoping to find a house that’s “nice and close to the practice facility and won’t make the commute too bad.”
Stafford is excited to get started with the Rams and hopefully play in the big games he struggled to get to in Detroit. With the Rams being ready to win now, he could be the missing piece in Los Angeles for a team that has made the playoffs three times in the last four years – the same number of times Stafford reached the postseason in 12 seasons with the Lions.
