I must say, if a Rams fan STILL can't go all in over Stafford, then I guess it's just not possible.
The Niners' Shannahan about had a heart attack over the Stafford deal, a guy HE wanted badly to replace Jimmy G.
Kyle Shanahan to Sean McVay on Matthew Stafford trade: 'You don't want to get me started, dude'
Published: Jul 07, 2021 at 12:04 PM
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Kevin Patra
Around the NFL Writer
Isaac Bruce: How Matthew Stafford will expand Sean McVay's offense
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When the Los Angeles Rams made the blockbuster trade for Matthew Stafford, both the quarterback and coach Sean McVay were famously in Cabo. Another key NFLer was also in the area but had a different take on the trade of his division rival: Kyle Shanahan.
With the San Francisco 49ers milling around the possibility of trading for Stafford, Shanahan was studying up on the 32-year-old QB.
Shanahan was recently on the Flying Coach podcast with McVay and Peter Schrager. McVay ribbed Shanahan, asking the Niners coach how he liked the Rams' new addition.
"You don't want to get me started, dude," Shanahan responded. "That was frustrating. I was in Cabo. I was studying it all. ... I remember looking through it because everybody was telling me it was a possibility. Stafford's the man. I studied him hard coming out of college, and you always play against him, so you know how good he is. But to know he might be available and to spend two weeks really watching him, Sean, yeah, he's better than I realized. He was the man. He's actually underrated to me. I know how good of a guy you got. I know how good he is at play-action. I know how smart he is. Not only does he just have a big arm, but he's got touch, he knows where to go with the ball. So I was trying to get involved in it.
"... I remember Saturday I was so stressed out and finally we talked to someone, it was seven at night, and they're like, 'No, nothing's happening (with a trade) at the earliest until tomorrow, so you can finish your night.' So I'm like, alright, I'm done. I put my phone down, talk to Mandy. I'm like, alright, 'Let's go out to dinner, let's have some drinks.' Half an hour later, my buddy calls me and is like, 'I'm just telling ya, if you want Stafford, you need to get a hold of him right now.' I'm like, 'What do you mean? We just talked to people. I can sleep on this. We'll talk to them tomorrow.' 'I'm just telling you, you need to talk to him right now.' And then it was all over."
"If it makes you feel any better, it came together faster than I thought, too, Kyle," McVay replied.
"The fact I was in Cabo, man, I would have been there, and I would have made it really awkward on you two to enjoy it," Shanahan bantered back. "You would have had to tell me to leave."
So Shannahan thinks Stafford is incredible. Even better and smarter than he thought when he broke down film. What is also telling is that after dragging their feet on the asking price for Stafford, the Niners turn around and expend THREE 1st round picks for a raw rookie from a mid-tier school, who played college football for....wait for it.... a year. This was triage. They had to do something (not unlike when the Rams gave up so much to move up for Goff) because they knew JG was not the answer.
No wonder Shannahan was stunned.
