Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
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Matthew Stafford #9 of the Los Angeles Rams looks on after beating the Houston Texans.
Los Angeles Rams star Matthew Stafford received lofty praise from Las Vegas Raiders minority owner Tom Brady, who also had a legendary (even for an eventual Hall of Famer) career at the quarterback position.
Brady and Stafford have an interesting history on the field, and they share a mutual respect.
The former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers star cited one of Stafford’s most celebrated skills: the no-look pass.
Raiders’ Tom Brady Name-Drops Rams’ Matthew Stafford
Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
GettyMatthew Stafford #9 of the Los Angeles Rams adjusts a play against the Houston Texans.
Brady spoke with Fox Sports 1’s Colin Cowherd, who asked the seven-time Super Bowl champion if there were any quarterbacks in the game today that made him think, “I can see he’s operating at a different level” in terms of pre-snap operation, leading to the Rams’ star, Stafford.
Brady said Stafford “jumps to the top of my mind.”
“When you see someone do these no-look passes like he did last week, he knows where the defense is going to be aligned,” Brady told Cowherd on September 12. “He sees a certain coverage, he knows the high-low combination that’s going to work against that coverage. So, he stares at the low defender, draws the coverage to the low defender, stares at the low defender, and then throws it to the higher receiver in the combination.”
Stafford threw a no-look pass to wide receiver Puka Nacua in the Rams’ 14-9 win over the Houston Texans in Week 1. Sharp Football Analytics’ Warren Sharp called the throw “insane.”
“That is an elite level of play in his ability to recognize defenses and then make those type of throws,” Brady told Cowherd. “So he’s the one, and again, he’s a veteran quarterback. He’s played a lot of football.”
Matthew Stafford Got Best of Tom Brady in Postseason
Matthew Stafford, Tom Brady, Los Angeles Rams
GettyTom Brady #12 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers speaks with Matthew Stafford #9 of the Detroit Lions following a game.
Brady and Stafford squared off six times as players, five of which came during the regular season, but only once when the latter was with the Rams. That was during the 2021 NFC Divisional Playoffs, where Stafford and the Rams beat Brady’s Buccaneers 30-27 thanks to LA’s QB.
Stafford threw for 366 yards and 2 TDs on 73.7% completion, getting out to a 27-3 lead. But the Bucs rattled off 24 unanswered points to tie the game.
Stafford drove the Rams down the field for a game-winning field goal by Matt Gay.
The Rams went on to win the Super Bowl that season, which was Stafford’s first in LA after a trade from the Detroit Lions. Brady retired in 2023 after the following campaign (2022) and, in addition to Raiders ownership and other ventures, now does color commentary on game days.
Raiders had Matthew Stafford on Radar
Mark Davis, Tom Brady, Los Angeles Rams
GettyLas Vegas Raiders owner and managing general partner and Las Vegas Aces owner Mark Davis (L) and Tom Brady attend Game One of the 2023 WNBA Playoffs.
Brady’s affinity for Stafford is more than just lip service, with the Raiders meeting with the Rams’ QB after LA granted his camp permission to speak with other teams as they gauged his value and the possibility of a trade. There was an uproar about potential tampering, which the NFL denied.
In the end, Stafford reworked his contract with the Rams into a two-year, $80 million deal, and the Raiders instead acquired Geno Smith in a trade with the Seattle Seahawks.
There was also speculation during the 2024 campaign that Stafford could fit with the Raiders.
Notably, ESPN’s Mina Kimes cited Davante Adams as a potential reason Stafford would fit with the Raiders. Las Vegas traded Adams to the New York Jets during the campaign, where he reunited with former Green Bay Packers teammate Aaron Rodgers.
That did not work as planned, and Adams secured his release from the Jets, only to sign with the Rams, where he teams up with Stafford anyway.