Getty Former Detroit Lions and current Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford is at the center of multiple trade pitches.
Ahead of the NFL trade deadline, pundits linked Los Angeles Rams Super Bowl quarterback Matthew Stafford to the Minnesota Vikings in what would have been one of the biggest blockbuster trades since he departed from the Detroit Lions.
While it could have been discussed internally, it was one of the many scenarios that gained no tangible ground outside the trade rumors circuit.
Stafford’s wife, Kelly, addressed the trade rumors involving her husband on her podcast, “The Morning After with Kelly Stafford and Hank,” admitting it added stress to the household and that the Rams’ win over the Vikings on October 31 could have played a factor in Matthew staying put in Los Angeles.
“Matthew to the Vikings: Now, there was no legs to this, which was very interesting, because I opened up Instagram one day and, ‘Oh, do I need to start looking for a home in Minnesota?’ What’s happening? And that’s one thing you don’t want to text your husband, ‘Hey, have you heard if you’re getting traded?’ And that didn’t happen cause I’m not going to text him that,” Kelly said, per the New York Post. “I also just think it is inappropriate in a way when he’s with a team for me to even bring it up unless he brings it up, cause he’s seeing it too, it’s not like he’s not seeing these rumors, correct.”
Matthew Stafford’s Wife Admits If Rams Had Not Turned Season Around The Vikings Seemed Realistic
GettyLos Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio floated the idea of Stafford leaving for Minnesota on October 12 after the Rams started the season 1-4 entering their bye week.
There are several contractual factors made that sense for Los Angeles to prematurely part ways with Stafford if they could not turn their season around. However, coming out of the bye week, Los Angeles has strung together three straight wins, including a 30-20 win over the Vikings in Week 8 where Matthew got his top two targets back in Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua.
If the Rams did not improve their record before the November 5 trade deadline, Kelly admitted the rumors would have held more weight in their household.
“I was thinking about it, in our world now, what would happen if that rumor was true? What would happen if we hadn’t won a game again and Minnesota offered something for Matthew that the Rams were like, ‘Yeah, this works,’” Kelly said. “… The what-if for me was like, OK, I’ve always told myself we will never separate our family cause it’s not fair to anyone. It’s not fair to him to not be able to see his girls, it’s not fair to the girls not to see their dad, I would lose my mind without him.”
She added that she even considering starting the house search for Matthew and their twin daughters.
“When the first rumor hit, I was like what’s happening? Obviously, I’m a go-with-the-flow kind of girl, and to be honest, I think what, and this is what I said I would do, I would pick up, go, lease a spot for six months, put the kids in a public school there for the fall and then come back in the winter,” Kelly said.
Vikings’ Sam Darnold is Playing Like Matthew Stafford in His Super Bowl Year
GettyVikings quarterback Sam Darnold
While getting a proven Super Bowl winner would have been a boon to the Vikings’ 2024 playoff ambitions, Sam Darnold is showing he has the makings of playing like Stafford did during his 2021 championship run.
In 2021, Stafford took plenty of risks, and they largely paid off in part to a strong supporting cast of skill players. Stafford ranked No. 1 in big-time throws while turning in the third-most turnover-worthy plays and also finished top 10 in sacks, per Purple Insider.
Through nine weeks, Darnold has completed the fifth-most big-time throws, is seventh with the most turnover-worthy plays and has taken the sixth-most sacks.
However, he’s also on pace to throw for over 4,000 yards passing, 36 touchdowns and 15 interceptions, which would all be career highs for the 27-year-old.
Unlike Kirk Cousins, Darnold doesn’t need to be convinced to take a shot downfield; and he certainly can shake off a bad outcome and bounce back.
Kevin O’Connell is adamant about riding Darnold’s aggressiveness much like he did with Stafford en route to a championship just months before he was hired as the Vikings’ new head coach.
“I’m going to stay aggressive with him,” O’Connell said, per The Star Tribune. “My trust in Sam is something that I think is going to be a winning edge for our football team.”
Trevor Squire is a sports journalist covering the NFL and NBA for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Minnesota Vikings, Minnesota Timberwolves and Milwaukee Bucks. Trevor studied journalism at the University of Minnesota — Twin Cities, making stops at the Star Tribune and the St. Paul Pioneer Press. You can reach him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @trevordsquire. More about Trevor Squire
