Jalen Ramsey viewed Matthew Stafford similarly to the way many fans did before the 2021 season. He saw the stats and knew about his arm talent, but Ramsey also knew Stafford had never won a playoff game.
So he was skeptical about the veteran QB, right up until the moment the Rams traded for him.
Stafford was a guest on Ramsey’s podcast, “Straight off the Press,” and admitted to the quarterback’s face that he wasn’t a believer in him.
“I gotta admit to the camera, to you, before you became my quarterback, I was not a believer. It’s a fact. I was not a believer,” he said. “I knew you had the stats. I knew you had Detroit turnt up as much as they could be turnt up. But I wasn’t a believer. I was like, ‘Man, is he the guy who’s gonna get us over the hump?’ I remember I was in Hawaii, Sean (McVay) called me, and y’all were in Mexico, I guess. And he said, ‘We’re gonna get Matthew Stafford.’ And I said, ‘Well (expletive), now I believe. I don’t care, I’m a believer now.’”
Ramsey immediately thought about what he knew about Stafford, quickly realizing he would be the best quarterback he ever plays with, most likely. He also knew about Stafford’s playoff record and was confident the Rams could help him get that elusive postseason win.
“We got a defense, we got some guys on offense. We gotta make sure we get playoff wins for him this year,” Ramsey said.
Ramsey has come a long way from his previous thoughts about Stafford before the Rams’ blockbuster trade. He now believes he’s a Hall of Famer.
“It was a Twitter debate going on saying, is Matthew Stafford a Hall of Famer based off of now winning a Super Bowl with the Rams and all his stats?” Ramsey recalled. “I remember doing a podcast a couple weeks later and I said 100%. And I might be biased now because I’ve seen you as my teammate, but now I’m like, he’s got the Super Bowl, he’s got the stats. … You got the playoff wins, the Super Bowl. You’ve got it all now. In my opinion, you Hall of Fame, I’m gonna say Hall of Fame.”
It’s still up for debate whether Stafford deserves to be a Hall of Famer, but it’s probably too early to tell. If he keeps winning in the playoffs and puts up big numbers the way he has throughout his career, he’ll have a strong case when he hangs up his cleats.
