During the early stages of last NFL offseason, the Las Vegas Raiders were trying to swing a blockbuster trade with the Los Angeles Rams to acquire Matthew Stafford, who appeared to be on the outs in Los Angeles at the time.
The Raiders desperately needed a quarterback and had not yet made the move to acquire Geno Smith, so Stafford was the top option in their sights at the time.
Ultimately, the Rams opted to keep Stafford, as both sides came to terms on a restructured contract, but ESPN’s Adam Schefter has revealed that Las Vegas could have had Stafford if it were willing to do one thing: include a second-round draft pick in the deal.
“And it’s so funny to me, because at that time, those teams, like any team trying to trade for a player, you want the best value possible,” Schefter said during an appearance on Unsportsmanlike. “You want to give up the least amount of compensation. And so those teams would put together packages but generally speaking, with most of these teams, I remember the conversation being that the Rams wanted at least a second-round draft pick and then some.”
Apparently, the Raiders — and other teams chasing Stafford — were unwilling to budge there.
“And teams were stuck on a third-round pick,” Schefter added. “Oh my God. And I get that you always want to squabble over picks and players, and you can’t always give in, but if it’s a quarterback, I always think you really can’t go wrong.”
It seems relatively safe to say that Las Vegas regrets that move now.
While Stafford has gone on to rack up 32 touchdown passes compared to just four interceptions in 12 games this season, Smith leads the league with 14 picks. And remember: the Raiders handed Smith a two-year, $75 million contract extension upon acquiring the 35-year-old for a third-round pick back in March.
Now, to be fair, Stafford almost certainly wouldn’t be putting up those numbers with the weapons Las Vegas has. A big part of the reason he has been so successful in Los Angeles this year is because he has Puka Nacua and Davante Adams at his disposal.