Matthew Stafford met with Tom Brady this past week to discuss a possible move to the Raiders, sparking several rumors—such as other teams being in the mix for his services as well. The New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Cleveland Browns, for example. But ultimately, Stafford met with his current head coach, Sean McVay, and the two finalized an agreement to keep him in LA. Now, some may think it was pointless for Stafford to meet with Brady if he never planned on a trade, but not Keyshawn Johnson.
Advertisement
Johnson contends that Stafford met with Brady out of respect, and he never wanted to leave southern Cali. As of now, there are no official details on Stafford’s new contract with the Rams, but the restructuring of the final two years on his original four-year, $160 million extension is expected to be very lucrative. So, that visit to Montana to meet Brady and Raiders owner Mark Davis may have simply been Stafford testing the market.
Beyond that, Johnson pointed to Stafford’s newly purchased home (in 2023) in the City of Angels, arguing that the QB wouldn’t have made such a commitment if a trade had been on his mind.
“He was never going anywhere, I said it all along… Dude just bought a house, he ain’t going anywhere. House tells you everything,” said Johnson on Speak.
Moreover, the analyst explained that Matthew couldn’t have turned down a meeting with Brady. He playfully compared refusing to meet Brady to turning down an invitation from the President of the United States.
“Okay, I go out to Montana and I meet with the terrific Tom Brady. I got the permission to do that, so we did it. It’s like telling the President of the United States to a degree, ‘I don’t wanna meet with you no matter what the situation is.’ You don’t do that to Tom Brady, you’re gonna go meet with Tom. Even though you already know that you’re staying.”
Johnson is right, Stafford had every right to meet with Brady and test his market. Even if he knew all along that he was staying in LA, players need to explore their options, especially at 37 years old. At this stage, Stafford is surely focused on chasing one more ring.
View this post on Instagram
However, Johnson’s President of the U.S. analogy falls a bit short given the times we’re in. Several athletes have snubbed White House visits in recent years due to their disagreements with Donald Trump. In 2018, the entire Eagles team skipped the visit, and reports suggest that trend could continue this year. Other Olympic athletes have done the same as well.
That said, Keyshawn’s point is still clear—sometimes, you do things out of respect for who someone is and the invitation they’re extending. That’s exactly what Stafford did, and he had every right to. In the end, though, it doesn’t really matter because he’s going, going, back, back, to Cali, Cali.
Stafford led the team to a Super Bowl victory in his first year. After an injury-marred 2022, he got them back to the playoffs in 2023, where they came close to beating the Lions but bowed out in the Wild Card round.
This past season, Stafford led an upset over the Minnesota Vikings in the Wild Card and nearly did it again against the eventual champs, the Eagles. But a fourth-down stop in opposing territory ended their season.
With Stafford on board, the Rams will be a Super Bowl contender again. Without him—whether with a replacement (like Aaron Rodgers) or a rookie QB—that wouldn’t have been a sure thing. So, is it really surprising that the Rams kept him?
