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Matthew Stafford and Aaron Rodgers never would have shared a roster with the New York Jets, but in a way, both shaped their 2023 seasons together. Speaking on Tuesday's edition of "Pro Football Talk," NFL analyst Mike Florio claimed that Aaron Rodgers joining the Jets was the only reason Matthew Stafford didn't see an exit from Los Angeles last offseason.
"[00:00:44] A year ago [the Rams] were hoping that the Jets wouldn't get Aaron Rodgers so they would call up and trade for Stafford, [00:00:49][4.3] PFT," Mike Florio said.
Of course, the Jets went with Rodgers and Stafford remained with the Los Angeles Rams, where he now faces a contract negotiation with General Manager Les Snead.
Exploring repercussions of Matthew Stafford remaining with Los Angeles Rams
If the Los Angeles Rams had traded Matthew Stafford last offseason, he wouldn't have contributed to the turnaround in 2023. In 2021, the Rams won the Super Bowl. In 2022, the Rams went 5-12 in the team's lowest win total since before Sean McVay arrived in 2017.
Had the team traded Stafford in the 2023 offseason, they may have ended up with a quarterback of the future. With a 5-12 record, the team would have had ample draft capital to trade up or make other moves to secure a new face for the building.
The team still took a player in the form of Stetson Bennett, but had they gone that same route without Matthew Stafford, they would have potentially run into problems with their starting rookie quarterback's availability.
Bennett's absence for most of the regular season, possibly due to personal troubles, could have left the team in a tough spot, prompting them to sign Carson Wentz sooner. Wentz ended up playing in Week 18 against the San Francisco 49ers and winning the game, so fans may argue that the team might have been able to watch a potential renaissance for Carson Wentz with Sean McVay.
Of course, with seemingly infinite possibilities and variables constantly at play in the NFL, the franchise could have taken any number of paths without Stafford. Many have argued that it remains one of the biggest selling points of sports.
