Maybe the San Francisco 49ers weren't as "in it" for quarterback Matthew Stafford as everyone assumed. At least, that is what Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reported in his latest feature.
Stafford wanted to go to California. After all, his family has a home in Newport Beach, which is about 40 miles south of SoFi Stadium. According to Breer, the Los Angeles Rams were always his preferred destination, following by the 49ers and Indianapolis Colts.
On Saturday night, Stafford got his wish. The Detroit Lions traded the quarterback to the Rams in exchange for two future first-round picks, a third-rounder, and Jared Goff. It seemed like a haul for the soon-to-be-33-year-old quarterback. But at least part of the offer was reportedly to entice the Lions to take on Goff's salary. The result was an offer that was tough to beat. Los Angeles clearly was all-in on Stafford and eager to ship Goff and his massive contract out of Southern California.
So how far did talks between the 49ers and Lions get? Not far at all, it seems. Breer reports that the two sides had some discussions in Mobile, Alabama, leading to the Senior Bowl, but that's all they were — talks. Nothing was on the verge of becoming official, despite what the Twitter rumors and speculation had everyone believing.
San Francisco planned to continue discussions with Detroit after the weekend, but then things heated up on Saturday, and the Lions reached out to gauge the 49ers' interest.
"My sense is the 12th pick was never going to be offered," wrote Breer, which matches what we heard all last week — that the 49ers were doing everything they could to keep the No. 12 overall pick out of play. Of course, that always came with the caveat that things could change quickly.
When Detroit reached out, things had clearly escalated beyond what the 49ers were comfortable with, and the team had no issue moving on from Stafford and moving forward with Jimmy Garoppolo.
Breer also broke down what other teams were offering to the Lions for Stafford.
- The Carolina Panthers offered the No. 8 overall pick in this year's draft plus a later pick.
- The Washington Football Team was offering the No. 19 overall pick with a third-round pick.
- The Colts never offered their first-rounder but did discuss packages of picks and a player.
- The Denver Broncos discussed a pick swap with the Lions that would have equated to a late first-round pick. That didn't go anywhere.
- The New England Patriots discussed packaging a second-round pick with a player but weren't on Stafford's list of preferred destinations.
- Talks with the Chicago Bears and New York Jets didn't get far.