Former Detroit Lions and current Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford.
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Former Detroit Lions and current Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford was called out after his MVP win.
For Matthew Stafford, a career that started with a downtrodden Detroit Lions franchise could end with one final run at the Super Bowl.
Stafford has seen a late-career resurgence since being traded to the Los Angeles Rams in 2021, winning a Super Bowl in his first season and quickly bringing the team back to contention after a rapid rebuild. One NFL analyst predicts that the Rams are setting up one final run at a title for the quarterback, sending them near the top of the league.
One Final Ring for Matthew Stafford
Pete Prisco of CBS Sports released an offseason ranking of all NFL teams, putting the Rams at No. 2, just behind division rival and Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. Prisco noted that the Rams appear to be gearing up for a final title run for Stafford, just as they stacked the team in his first season in 2021.
“Of course with Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford coming to the end of his career, it made sense for them to go all in. The last time they made moves like this they won a Super Bowl,” Prisco said.
Prisco added that the Rams still have a difficult path, starting with their own division. The NFC West was one of the league’s best divisions last season, and there are three teams in Prisco’s top six.
“Those moves to improve the secondary have the Rams up to the No. 2 spot in my Power Rankings,” Prisco wrote. “They are right behind the Seattle Seahawks, the Super Bowl champs who beat the Rams in the NFC Championship.”
Lions Securing Their Own Quarterback Future
While the blockbuster trade that sent Stafford to Los Angeles reaped some immediate benefits for the Rams, it also helped shape the Lions into Super Bowl contenders. Quarterback Jared Goff struggled to find his footing in Los Angeles, but blossomed into a franchise quarterback in Detroit.
Nick Shook of NFL.com shared big praise for the Lions quarterback in his final rankings, putting him at No. 9 in the league and noting that he struggled as the team’s running game faltered last season.
“Jared Goff produced at a rate that was very similar to his last two seasons and tried his best to rescue a Lions offense that declined in 2025,” he stated in the feature. “Their running game’s disappearance undercut their chances, though, and put a target on his back that he was unable to shed in the final month of the regular season.”