It almost felt like a dead end for Matthew Stafford in 2021. After 12 grueling seasons with little success, the prospect of another multi-year franchise rebuild was just as concerning as it was tiresome. But the issue wasn’t just about the Detroit Lions’ on-field struggles or Stafford’s impatience. Instead, at 33, it was more about how quickly time was running out for the veteran quarterback. So, unlike the messy, high-profile holdouts we’re so used to seeing, the two parties did what they had to do.

And while Stafford’s move to the Los Angeles Rams was evidently rewarding (courtesy of a Super Bowl win in his very first season), the Lions have equally reaped the benefits, if not more. Or at least that’s what head coach Dan Campbell seemed to allude to in his latest interview. (And he’s not wrong)

“You find out pretty quickly that Matt Stafford – we’re going to need to trade him away,” Campbell said on Coach2Coach with Jason Garrett. “Really, that move set up everything: what we really are now, because it gave us the draft capital. It gave us a quarterback, a young quarterback, and Jared Goff.”

Notably, in trading Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams, the Lions were able to acquire quarterback Jared Goff, a third-round pick in the 2021 draft, and first-round picks in the 2022 and 2023 drafts. What’s more, fast forward to now with players like Jahmyr Gibbs, Sam LaPorta, Jameson Williams, Ifeatu Melifonwu, Josh Paschal and Brodric Martin, the Lions have been to the postseason twice since 2020, as opposed to just three playoff appearances between 2009-2020. And it’s also worth noting that Goff has succeeded Stafford well.

Jared Goff stabilized the Lions well after Stafford’s exit

The 31-year-old became the steady hand a struggling Detroit franchise desperately needed as it faced turbulence. In the past three NFL seasons, Goff reportedly became the only quarterback in the league to pass for at least 4,50 yards each season. For context, as per NFL insider Jeremy Fowler, only four quarterbacks have more passing yards per season, namely Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Matt Ryan and Peyton Manning. And if that’s not enough…

Goff also finished in the top five in passing touchdowns with over a 67% passing rate in that same time span. In fact, during the 2o25 season, through a career-high 38 sacks, the signal caller finished second in passing yards (4,564) and passing touchdowns (34) behind (ironically) Matthew Stafford. Expectedly, this consistency has almost meant recognition where you’d least expect. 

According to ESPN, Goff became the top-ranked QB in the NFC North and ninth overall (after Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, Dak Prescott, Justin Herbert and Drake Maye) as per a “poll of NFL executives and coaches”

“The guy wins,” ESPN reported quoted an NFL coordinator as saying. “He’s going to find a completion if not under pressure. Mature pocket passer with a plus arm who can layer the ball at all levels.”

Per Sports Illustrated, another NFL analyst also made sure to extend credit where it’s due.

“While Goff’s talent does not jump off the screen like the electric dual-threat quarterbacks who have taken the NFL by storm, the veteran’s numbers don’t lie,” analyst Bucky Brooks said. “Since 2022, he has started every game while comfortably leading the league in passing yards (18,206) and passing touchdowns (130). During that span, Goff also ranks top five in QB wins (45, T-third), completion percentage (68.1, fifth), yards per attempt (7.9, T-fifth) and passer rating (103.4, third).

“It’s quite an impressive development, considering many folks initially viewed him as something of a toss-in alongside the immense draft capital the Lions received from the Rams in the Matthew Stafford trade.”

Ironically, Goff arrived after essentially being discarded by Rams head coach Sean McVay, who had made the quarterback a convenient target for the problems plaguing Los Angeles’ offense. Now, Goff stands as perhaps Detroit’s clearest path to something the franchise has long chased: the Lombardi Trophy. And in a twist of football fate, his role in Detroit mirrors the one Matthew Stafford plays in Los Angeles: the quarterback becoming the piece a team needed to finally chase the ultimate prize.

That said, despite the trade being requested by the quarterback himself back then, here’s the thing: It wasn’t just Stafford’s fault.

Detroit’s rushing attack, for one, was ineffective. Since Stafford entered the NFL in 2009, Reggie Bush had been the only Lions running back to break the 1,000-yard rushing mark in a single season. That was a surprising stat that has lasted throughout Stafford’s entire Detroit tenure.

The quarterback also didn’t have a good offense and defense at the same time. No wonder he asked for the trade after the 2020 season ended. He told WDIV in 2021 that it was the “hardest conversation” he’d ever had.

“Anytime you switch GMs and a head coach, you know that they’re going to want to bring their own people in, and that’s going to take time,” Stafford said back then. “I didn’t feel like I was the appropriate person to oversee that time.”

Campbell also had to manage expectations around what came next. The Lions were not going to turn things around overnight, and their first season under their new coach proved that. Detroit went 3-13-1 in 2021. Campbell does not remember that team by its record, though. That group, in his view, laid the groundwork for everything after.

“It wasn’t the most talented group, but it was one of the most special groups I’ve been around, because those guys were fighters,” he said.

Today, the trade has worked well for all parties involved. Stafford went on to win the Super Bowl with the Rams, and is gearing up to win another one this year as the reigning NFL MVP. In Detroit, Jared Goff is returning to a powerful offense this year after two consecutive Pro Bowl nods.