The Detroit Lions have had an improbable franchise turnaround over the last few seasons. The franchise was viewed as one of the league’s biggest laughingstocks for decades, but general manager Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell have finally brought winning football to the Motor City and have established a culture centered around grit and perseverance.
The Lions have built the foundation of the team through the draft, as wide receiver Amon-Ra St.Brown, running back Jahmyr Gibbs, offensive tackle Penei Sewell, edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson, and safeties Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph are just a few high-level players Holmes and Campbell have drafted in their Lions tenure that began in 2021.
Despite drafting a multitude of Pro Bowlers and All-Pros, Holmes’ most notable move as Detroit’s general manager occurred the same month he got the job, in January 2021. On January 30, 2021, the Lions agreed to trade quarterback Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for quarterback Jared Goff, a 2021 third-round pick, a first-round pick in 2022, and a first-round pick in 2023. The deal became official on March 17, 2021.
Though dealing a fan favorite in Stafford was a difficult pill for the Lions to take, the agreement between Los Angeles and Detroit has become one of the best win-win trades in sports history, with Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter ranking it as the 21st largest sports trade of the last quarter century.
Stafford won a Super Bowl in his first season with the Rams, while Goff has led a franchise-altering turnaround in Detroit, finishing 12-5 last season and looking like the NFC favorites so far this year. The Lions rewarded him with a four-year, $212 million extension in May. This is already a win-win trade, and if the Lions win a Super Bowl in the future, it will solidify their legacy.
Obviously, the key component of this transaction was Stafford to the Rams and Goff to the Lions. Stafford led the Rams to a Super Bowl championship in 2021, his first season with the organization, and has Los Angeles in position to capture their second division title and third postseason participation in four seasons in 2024, as the Rams are 8-6 and atop the NFC West entering Week 16.
After losing Super Bowl LIII, having a lackluster last two seasons with Los Angeles, and suffering in his rookie season with the Lions, many people wrote Jared Goff off. However, the 2016 No. 1 overall pick has revitalized his career with the Detroit Lions in recent years and is one of the NFL’s most accurate quarterbacks.
Goff led the Lions to their first division title in franchise history in 2023, as well as their first playoff victory since 1991, when they defeated Stafford and the Rams in the Wild Card Round at Ford Field last season. Detroit advanced to the NFC Championship Game last year but was unable to secure their first Super Bowl berth in franchise history, losing to the San Francisco 49ers. Goff and the Lions are 12-2 entering Week 16 of 2024, making them one of the top teams in the NFL. Detroit has already qualified for the playoffs this season and is presently the NFC’s top seed.
This trade resulted in exceptional quarterback play for both the Lions and the Rams, but Detroit also received an abundance of draft picks. The following is a list of players Holmes and the Lions were able to add using the choices from the deal.
The Lions converted those picks into the following players: RB Jahmyr Gibbs (via trade with the Cardinals) TE Sam LaPorta (via trade with the Cardinals) DT Brodric Martin (via trade with the Cardinals) WR Jameson Williams (by trade with the Vikings). EDGE Josh Paschal (by trade with the Vikings) DB CB Ifeatu Melifonwu.
Detroit traded back with the Arizona Cardinals in the 2022 NFL Draft, acquiring Gibbs, LaPorta, and Martin with the picks. In 2022, the Lions traded up with the Minnesota Vikings to obtain Williams and Paschal. In 2021, Holmes selected Melifonwu in the third round. Long story short, the Goff-Stafford trade will be remembered as one of the greatest bargains in NFL history, as it won the Rams a Super Bowl and propelled the Lions to prominence.
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