Rams put Matthew Stafford on IR, and why that is huge news for the Lions

The Los Angeles Rams announced on Saturday that starting quarterback Matthew Stafford is being placed on injured reserve, which likely means that his 2022 season has come to an end.

And Stafford’s former team, the Detroit Lions, figure to benefit from that development in a very, very big way. 

Stafford will not be eligible to return to the Rams’ lineup until their Week 17 game against the Los Angeles Chargers, but given Stafford’s health and the fact the Rams will have absolutely nothing to play for it would be nonsensical to bring him back.

That means the Rams, who are already 3-8 and on their way to a bitterly disappointing season, will likely be significant underdogs in all of their remaining games with a backup quarterback under center. It is not a stretch to think the Rams could lose the overwhelming majority of their remaining six games, as they are already 0-2 without Stafford and have lost five consecutive games overall. 

So how does this benefit the Lions?

Well, that’s simple.

The Rams 2023 first-round pick, which now figures to be in the top-five, is still owed to Detroit as part of the trade that sent Stafford to Los Angeles. 

So not only are the Rams going from winning a Super Bowl to the bottom of the NFL standings, they are not even going to have the top draft pick to show for their miserable seasaon.

This is a game-changer for the Lions. They are showing some real improvement in recent weeks under head coach Dan Campbell, and now they know they should still be getting a top-five pick to go with their own first-round pick which should still be in the top-half of the first round. 

That should put them in a prime position to either land their next quarterback of the future (C.J. Stroud? Will Levis? Maybe even Bryce Young?) or one of the impact defensive players (Jalen Carter? Will Anderson?) to pair with 2022 first-round pick Aiden Hutchinson. It is a great opportunity to really kickstart their rebuild.

As costly as that price is for the Rams, you still can not really blame them for the trade. They ended up getting a championship out of it and banners fly forever. It is still a tough break the way this season has gone.