Matthew Stafford is excited to join the Los Angeles Rams, but he expected to end up playing with the Indianapolis Colts, San Francisco 49ers or Washington Football Team in 2021.
The 33-year-old quarterback left the Detroit Lions in a trade after representing the team for 12 years, with the Rams sending QB Jared Goff and a package of draft picks that contained two first-round selections in the other direction.
Stafford and the Lions agreed it was the best move as the team embarked on a rebuild after firing head coach Matt Patricia and GM Bob Quinn towards the end of a 5-11 season in 2020.
The number one overall pick in 2009, Stafford leaves the Lions without having won a playoff game.
He hopes the chance to represent the Rams, who were in the Super Bowl at the end of the 2018 season, will give him a chance to play in the biggest NFL games.
Stafford should upgrade the QB position for Rams coach Sean McVay, but he was not expecting to join the likes of Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey in LA when his offseason began.
"I've always wanted to play in those big games," Stafford said to the Detroit Free Press. "I feel like I will excel in those situations. I wanted to shoot my shot.
"I thought [I would go to] all the places that everybody else thought. Indianapolis. San Francisco - although you didn't know what was gonna happen with Jimmy [Garoppolo] - Washington.
"But we obviously didn't know what was gonna happen there. I just didn't know how they [the Rams] would ever be able to [pull it off]. You know, I'm not a salary cap guru. It kind of got to a point where I'm like, 'OK, I can't sit there and go crazy'. I just tried to let it happen and LA aggressively jumped into it.
"I'm excited about their roster, their coaching staff, what they can bring to the table and their recent success."
Stafford initially thought he would never leave Detroit, but he came to realise a rebuild could be on the cards if the 2020 season did not meet expectations as the pressure grew on Patricia.
"To be honest, [my wife] Kelly and I probably started talking about it before last season," he said. "It was one of those where we were hoping, 'Golly, let's go, I hope this thing takes off and we play great'.
"But if it doesn't, you just knew what was going to happen. They were going to tear it down and rebuild.
"Anytime you switch GMs and a head coach, you know that they're going to want to bring their own people in, and that's going to take time. Frankly, I didn't feel like I was the appropriate person to oversee that time."
Stafford thought his ability would hinder the Lions' rebuild as he would win too many games to prevent them from topping the draft order.
He leaves with 45,109 passing yards, 282 touchdowns, 144 interceptions and 74 wins – all franchise QB records.
Stafford finishes with a record of 74-90-1, though, and with no NFC North titles after enduring three consecutive losing seasons between 2018 and 2020.
He added: "Sometimes it's not the perfect storybook ending in the same place, but I can leave here knowing that I gave this team every damn thing I had."
Leeds United 4-0 Norwich City (4-0 agg): Whites book Wembley spot in emphatic fashion
Leeds United thumped Norwich City 4-0 in the second leg of their Championship play-off semi-final to seal their place at Wembley.
After a goalless draw in the first leg left it all to play for at Elland Road on Thursday, Leeds turned on the style in front of a raucous home crowd to cruise into the final on May 26.
Ilia Gruev settled the majority of Elland Road's nerves with just seven minutes played as he caught out Angus Gunn with a long-range free-kick, curling into the space vacated by the Norwich goalkeeper's expectation of a cross.
Joel Piroe then doubled the hosts' advantage 13 minutes later, again capitalising on poor goalkeeping to beat Gunn to Wilfried Gnonto's cross and nod home.
The tie was effectively over five minutes from half-time, Georginio Rutter getting on the end of Crysencio Summerville's squared pass to rifle off the underside of the crossbar and in.
And after Gunn spilled Gnonto's low shot in the second half, Rutter cut the ball back for Summerville to poke home and secure Leeds' place in next Sunday's final, where they will meet either Southampton or West Brom.
Data debrief
Leeds may have looked pretty blunt in attack at Carrow Road, but that was far from the case on home soil as they put the Canaries to the sword in brutal fashion while keeping a 21st Championship clean sheet this season, more than any other side.
Daniel Farke's men produced 2.45 xG (expected goals) to Norwich's 0.51, while Summerville made it 20 league goals for the season, more than any other Leeds player.
NFL reveals full 2024 schedule
The entire 2024 NFL schedule is now set.
While all the matchups have been known since the conclusion of the 2023 regular season, and some games were revealed in the last few days, the league released the remainder of the schedule on Wednesday.
The latest schedule update included the American Thanksgiving triple-header featuring the Chicago Bears visiting the Detroit Lions, followed by the New York Giants at the Dallas Cowboys and wrapping up with the Miami Dolphins travelling to Green Bay to face the Packers.
The following day on Black Friday, the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs will host the Las Vegas Raiders.
Earlier in the day, the NFL announced the five international games and the Christmas Day doubleheader.
Christmas, which falls on a Wednesday, will see the Chiefs visiting the Pittsburgh Steelers, followed by the Houston Texans hosting the Baltimore Ravens.
On Boxing Day, the Chicago Bears will host the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night Football.
The Chiefs and Ravens will kick off the season in Kansas City on September 5 in a rematch of last season's AFC Championship Game.
The following night, the NFL will play its first game in South America with the Philadelphia Eagles and Packers squaring off in São Paulo, Brazil.
The first Sunday Night game of the season features the Detroit Lions hosting the Los Angeles Rams in a rematch of their thrilling wild-card game.
The first Monday Night Football game will see Aaron Rodgers make his return after rupturing his Achilles tendon just four snaps into his Jets career with New York visiting the defending NFC champion San Francisco 49ers.
Other Week 1 highlights include Russell Wilson appearing in his first game for the Steelers, as Pittsburgh visits the Atlanta Falcons, and No. 1 pick Caleb Williams making his NFL debut with the Chicago Bears hosting the Tennessee Titans.
Other rookie quarterbacks likely to take the field in Week 1 include No. 2 pick Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders visiting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, No. 3 pick Drake Maye and the New England Patriots visiting the Cincinnati Bengals, and J.J. McCarthy, the 10th overall pick, of the Minnesota Vikings visiting the Giants.
The Jim Harbaugh era in Los Angeles begins with the Chargers hosting the Raiders.
Jets-Vikings among NFL's international games
Aaron Rodgers will meet an old rival in a new uniform as one of five International Games matchups announced by the NFL on Wednesday.
Rodgers' New York Jets will take on the Minnesota Vikings at London's Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Oct. 6, one of three games that will take place in the United Kingdom capital in 2024.
The International Series will kick off on the league's opening weekend with a clash between Rodgers' former team, the Green Bay Packers, and the Philadelphia Eagles in São Paulo, Brazil on Friday, Sept. 6. That game will be the first of any kind held by the NFL in South America, as well as the first to take place on a Friday during Week 1 in more than 50 years.
The Jacksonville Jaguars will take part in the other two games held in London, and could face a rookie quarterback in each. Jacksonville will host the Chicago Bears at Tottenham Stadium on Oct. 13 and will meet the New England Patriots at Wembley Stadium one week later on Oct. 20.
Chicago selected 2022 Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams with the first overall pick in this year's draft, while the Patriots chose North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye with the third overall pick.
The Jaguars have been involved in more international games than any NFL team, as this season's matchups will be the 12th and 13th played in London in franchise history.
Munich, Germany will host the final 2024 international game when the New York Giants and Carolina Panthers square off at Allianz Arena on Nov. 10.
"We are delighted to announce these exciting matchups across London and Munich, in addition to the historic first game in São Paulo, Brazil, to complete the 2024 International Games slate," NFL executive vice president of club business, major events & international Peter O'Reilly said in a league press release. “As the league and its 32 teams continue to prioritise international growth, we look forward to building on the incredible fan experiences seen in Europe while taking the game to new fans in South America."
The Giants-Panthers contest will be the second to take place in Munich during the regular season, with the Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers having met at Allianz Arena in 2022. The NFL staged two games in Frankfurt last season, including a 21-14 victory by the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs over the Miami Dolphins.
The NFL also announced on Wednesday that the Giants will be the featured team for its popular Hard Knocks television documentary series to be broadcast in July. This season's episodes will chronicle the team's day-to-day operations during this offseason.
Additionally, the league announced that its two Christmas Day games of the 2024 season will be broadcast by streaming service giant Netflix.
The participants of those two games will be announced when the NFL reveals its full 2024 schedule at 8 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday.
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