How the Rams and Lions QB Trade Impacts Bears
The Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams wasted no time in trading quarterbacks.
Like any other trade involving key players, there is a ripple effect.
In this case, Jared Goff coming to the Detroit Lions and Matthew Stafford going to the Los Angeles Rams on the surface is a win for the Bears because it removes a quarterback from the division with marginal success against them and brings in one who has sturggled greatly at times.
On the other hand, there are undertones regarding their own quarterback situation.
The Lions obtained a quarterback who in three games against the Bears has a 59.7 passer rating. The Rams won two of his three starts against the Bears, which could be credited to Aaron Donald, Leonard Floyd, the coaching of Sean McVay and most of all the Rams running game.
In three games, Goff had gone 54 of 95 for 573 yards with five interceptions, two touchdowns, four sacks and a yards-per-attempt average of 6.0.
Goff's team won a real 17-7 defensive war in 2019 at Los Angeles but his effect was very low on the game. The only real success against the Bears he had came this season but the Bears defense had plenty of trouble stopping the Rams on the ground in that game and Goff only threw for 211 yards in the 24-10 L.A. win.
Stafford, on the other hand, had managed an 11-9 record against the Bears with some very bad Lions teams included in his 12-year career. He's lost three of his last four starts against them, but the 34-30 comeback win he authored at Soldier Field in December reminded everyone of how deadly a passer he can be if he gets in a rhythm and isn't being put under a steady pass rush.
Stafford has a lifetime passer rating of 86.3 with 32 touchdown passes and 23 interceptions against the Bears, so not facing him twice a season looks like a break even though he'll be 33 this season.
It doesn't mean the Bears won't face him. The Rams are on their schedule for the fourth straight season, a road game for the third straight year.
The other major point about the trade is it removes an option for the San Francisco 49ers as a veteran starter, leaving them still with Jimmy Garoppolo. It's possible he could have been a player of interest to the Bears, but until San Francisco has another option they're still going with Garoppolo.
The 49ers are not in a great situation to offer much to Houston for Deshaun Watson.
So if San Francisco is going to deal Garoppolo, they'll need to come up with a better option than he is for them at the position, and then if the Bears are interested they would likely need to outbid the New England Patriots to get him.
That's a lot of ifs.
Veterans like Derek Carr, Sam Darnold or Carson Wentz are available too, although each probably has more downside than Garoppolo, who has been effective when healthy.
The draft still looks like the best chance to come up with a quarterback for the Bears, but in that case it would not be a passer who will impact next season.
If the goal is a veteran, they'll have to just wait until the next major move in the QB marketplace and the ripple effect it causes, or wow the 49ers with a deal for Garoppolo which provides them with more trade fodder to make their own QB deal.
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