49ers don't land Stafford, who reportedly will be traded to Rams

Matthew Stafford reportedly is headed to the NFC West, but he won't be joining the 49ers.

The Detroit Lions are trading the former No. 1 overall draft pick to the Los Angeles Rams for fellow former No. 1 overall pick Jared Goff, two future first-round draft picks and a third-round draft pick, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported.

Detroit is dealing QB Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for two future first-round picks, a third-round pick and QB Jared Goff, per sources. Two former No. 1 overall picks trading places in the first blockbuster NFL trade of 2021.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 31, 2021

NFL Media's Tom Pelissero reported that the first-round draft picks will take effect in 2022 and 2023, while the third-round pick will be a 2021 selection.

The full blockbuster trade involving two former No. 1 overall draft picks ...#Lions get:

QB Jared Goff
3rd-round pick in 2021
1st-round pick in 2022
1st-round pick in 2023#Rams get:

QB Matthew Stafford

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 31, 2021

The trade between the Lions and Rams can't become official until the NFL's new league year starts on March 17.

With Stafford reportedly off the board, the 49ers will have to look for other ways to upgrade at quarterback.

Earlier on Saturday, MMQB's Albert Breer reported that the 49ers were "solidly" pursuing Stafford and NBC Sports NFL analyst Peter King heard from two people in the loop that a trade could be agreed to on Tuesday or earlier.

Clearly, the Lions got the trade parameters agreed to much earlier.

Moving on from Goff is a stunning turn events for the Rams. They drafted him with the first pick in 2016 and he guided them to the Super Bowl in 2018. Now, they attached two future first-round picks just to move on from him and acquire a soon-to-be 33-year-old quarterback.

By trading their 2022 and 2023 first-round draft picks, the Rams will not have made a first-round selection since taking Goff in 2016.

Rams’ first round picks by year:
2016: Jared Goff
2017: None
2018: None
2019: None
2020: None
2021: None
2022: None
2023: None

And after trading Goff, the last player they took in the first round, the Rams aren’t scheduled to make another first round pick anytime soon.

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) January 31, 2021

And according to The Athletic's David Lombardi, the financials make it even worse for the Rams.

For the Rams: $22.2 million in dead money, but $12.8 million cap savings. (For reference, cutting Jared Goff would’ve cost LA *$30.3* million more than keeping him on the 2021 cap).

So the Rams paid all that draft capital not only for Matt Stafford, but also to unload Goff

— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) January 31, 2021

Think about that: Jared Goff’s contract was so burdensome that Rams had to drain their entire near-term reserve of first-round picks and a third rounder just to unload it.

Yes, they got Stafford — but the Stafford-only price was not nearly that high. This was the Goff mark-up https://t.co/V5n8zzOGaR

— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) January 31, 2021

Detroit did it because they deemed the draft capital — two firsts and a third — worth it.

The Lions also won’t be responsible for $38.6 million of prorated Jared Goff bonus money, so he’ll be much cheaper to them than he was to the Rams https://t.co/TL1gmHvhG5

— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) January 31, 2021

The Rams have dug themselves a deep hole that Stafford might not be able to get them out of.

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The 49ers now can turn their attention to disgruntled Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson and NFL draft prospects. If none of those options work out, coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch can stick with Jimmy Garoppolo, who helped San Francisco reach the Super Bowl last season.

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