Matthew Stafford: Leaving Lions Was ‘Hardest Conversation Of My Life’

Quarterback Matthew Stafford didn’t leave the Detroit Lions in a fairytale ending, but he can be proud of his tenure.

The new Los Angeles Rams recruit left the team he’d played for his entire career as a result of a significant regime change.

Matthew Stafford describes the decision to leave Detroit as “probably the hardest conversation I’ve ever had in my life.”

It had been in the mail. Matthew Stafford knew when Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes were hired as the head coach and GM, his time could be up.

“It was one of those things where, you know, we were hoping that — golly, let’s go, I hope this thing takes off and we play great,” Stafford told the Free Press.

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“But if it doesn’t, you just knew what was going to happen. They were going to tear it down and rebuild.

“And 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. And I, frankly, didn’t feel like I was the appropriate person to oversee that time.”

His trade to Los Angeles came as something of a surprise. Washington, the 49ers and the Colts’ need for a quarterback has been common knowledge all season.

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As the season wore on, it became apparent that Jared Goff wasn’t the right guy for the Rams. Then, it came down to whether the LA front office could pull off a trade.

“I’m not a salary cap guru,” Stafford added. 

“It kind of got to a point where I’m like, ‘OK, I can’t sit there and go crazy.’ I just tried to let it happen. And L.A. aggressively jumped into it.”