In most ways, the Rams’ trade for Matthew Stafford is a familiar football story: Team desperate for a Super Bowl brings in famous quarterback to lead it over the hump.
That’s the plot that paid off in Super Bowl trophies for the Broncos with Peyton Manning in the last decade and the Buccaneers with Tom Brady last season.
But in one way, what the Rams are trying to do with Stafford is without precedent. Unlike Manning and Brady, Stafford arrives without a Super Bowl on his résumé. In fact, one thing Stafford is famous for is being one of the best quarterbacks to have never won so much as a playoff game.
If the 33-year-old former No. 1 overall draft pick leads the Rams to the Super Bowl in February at SoFi Stadium, he won’t do it by saying, “Follow me, boys, I know the way.”
Stafford has been answering questions about his hunger for playoff success after 12 lean years with the Lions ever since the January trade that sent Jared Goff and three draft picks to Detroit, and he’ll still be answering them as Rams quarterbacks and rookies report Sunday for training camp in Irvine.
“Not having too many playoff chances under my belt, it’s frustrating, it’s tough,” Stafford said during the offseason. “You know, you play this game for success as a team, and you want to win games and be in those big moments. I’m excited to hopefully have that opportunity.”
While Stafford has ranked among the NFL’s 10 most productive passers in seven seasons, he made only three playoff starts with the Lions, who lost in the 2011, 2014 and 2016 wild-card rounds.
With the Rams, he joins teams who have known playoff success. Among the 70 non-rookies on the 90-man training-camp roster, 39 have played in at least one postseason victory, including nine holdovers from the Rams’ 2018 trip to the Super Bowl behind Goff. Even backup quarterback John Wolford has more playoff wins to his name than Stafford, having started the wild-card win over the Seahawks in January.
It’s an odd situation for a player stepping into a leadership role.
“I think the biggest thing for me – I try to do it in all situations – is I’m just going to try to be myself. Try and be the best version of myself that I can possibly be,” Stafford said. “I’ll organically get to know everybody and all that. It can’t happen in one trip around the locker room. It takes some time to figure out what makes guys tick.
“(I) understand that there’s been a high standard of success here – really, quarterback play as well. I’ve got to come in here and do my part, and I think that’s the biggest thing that people are going to take away from a quote-unquote leadership aspect of things, is just do your job to the (best) of your ability as often as you possibly can.”
One Rams teammate who can relate is Andrew Whitworth, the two-time All-Pro left tackle who was 0-6 in the playoffs in 12 seasons with the Bengals before he signed with the Rams in 2017 and quickly became the leader of the offensive line.
“Similar to my situation, he (Stafford) played for a really long time for one team in the Midwest and in a place where he was the guy and the leader and everything else,” Whitworth said. “It’s almost invigorating and a little nerve-wracking to come somewhere else, where there’s going to be an expectation. It almost fires you up and makes you feel like a rookie again.
“I think his mentality is similar to what mine was, and I think that’s why he’ll be great. He’s a natural leader and he’s a guys’ guy. You can tell he loves where he is and he’s having fun and he’s excited about the opportunity.”
Just who the Rams’ locker-room leaders are this season remains to be seen. Goff was one of the team captains for three seasons. Also leaving in the offseason were vocal safety John Johnson and defensive lineman Michael Brockers. Defensive tackle Aaron Donald shows the way with his work ethic.
Rams coach Sean McVay describes Stafford’s locker-room presence by citing something ESPN football analyst Dan Orlovsky, a former NFL quarterback, said: “When he walks into a room, you know he’s the man, but he can also be one of the guys. He’s got great confidence but a humility as well.”
Stafford impressed teammates in spring practice sessions by being more of a listener than a talker, wide receiver Robert Woods said.
“From a receiver’s standpoint, your quarterback asking, ‘What do you want on this route?’ is super big,” Woods said. “He’s coming into our offense with receivers who’ve made plays, but (he’s) really trying to make us comfortable (with him).”
The result was quickly evident, outside linebacker Leonard Floyd said.
“You can tell guys are buying in to what he’s doing already,” Floyd said after the first day of organized team activities in May.
Being 0-for-the-playoffs with a bedraggled team like the Lions doesn’t mean a quarterback can’t win a championship with a better team like the Rams. You’ve got to start, or restart, somewhere. George Blanda, Len Dawson and Drew Brees had zero playoff wins with one franchise and went on to win titles with another.
But Blanda’s title was the Oilers’ 1961 AFL championship, in pre-Super Bowl days. Dawson and Brees were only 27 when they made their big moves, Dawson going from the Browns to the Chiefs, with whom he won the 1962 AFL title (when they were the Dallas Texans) and the Super Bowl seven years later. Brees was 27 when the ex-Charger signed with the Saints in 2006, and won a Super Bowl three years later.
There are no cases of a star quarterback like Stafford, without a winning playoff start on his résumé yet as he toils in his 30s, switching teams and finding Super Bowl glory. Among those who tried and failed were Sonny Jurgensen (Washington), Fran Tarkenton (Vikings), Rich Gannon (Raiders) and Carson Palmer (Raiders and Cardinals).
That list includes two ex-Rams: Roman Gabriel, 0-2 in the playoffs with the Rams before being traded to the Eagles at 33 in 1973 and never sniffing the postseason again; and John Hadl, 0-1 with the Chargers before replacing Gabriel in L.A. and losing his only Rams playoff start.
The Rams’ one Super Bowl victory, as the St. Louis Rams in the 1999 season, was led by Kurt Warner, then 28 and in his first full NFL season.
Former Rams wide receiver Torry Holt, who caught Warner’s first touchdown pass in that Super Bowl, doesn’t think Stafford’s lack of winning playoff experience will limit his credibility as a leader.
“I’m sure they’re going to allow Matthew to do his thing. The best experience is to get the experience,” Holt said recently. “They know he hasn’t been there. But I don’t think that’s what they’re thinking about daily. They’re thinking about how they can improve to put themselves in the best position for the ultimate goal, and that’s to win it all.
“I think you’ve heard Matthew say, he’s done that part, now he wants to get in more meaningful games with an opportunity to win some championships. And I think Los Angeles gives him an opportunity to do that.”
The rest of the Rams’ players report to training camp Tuesday. The first practice is Wednesday at UC Irvine, the first preseason game Aug. 14 against the Chargers, the season opener Sept. 12 at SoFi Stadium against the Bears.
The Super Bowl is Feb. 13. If Stafford’s quest for playoff success is still a topic then, the trade will be a winner.
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