Just over a year ago, quarterback Matthew Stafford learned he was being traded from the Lions, his team of 12 seasons, to the Rams.
Stafford was on vacation in Cabo San Lucas when the deal transpired. By pure circumstance, the No. 1 pick in the 2009 NFL draft was in the same place as his future left tackle, Andrew Whitworth, and future coach, Sean McVay, when the deal went down.
It was there that Stafford played golf with Whitworth—the two had been introduced by a mutual friend, former NFL guard Clint Boling—and spend time by the pool with McVay. Melissa Whitworth, Andrew's wife, had even taken a picture of McVay and Stafford seated on a white couch together during their time there. And on the evening of Jan. 30, Stafford, having been informed of deal felt a wave of emotion.
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As Greg Bishop and Conor wrote in Monday's Sports Illustrated Daily Cover, that night Stafford called his best friend from second grade, Pan Lucas, over FaceTime to discuss the move.
Bishop and Orr wrote of the call:
Stafford is many things—driven, gifted, competitive as hell—but he is rarely outwardly emotional. He was, right then, for only the second time that Lucas could recall. The other instance was more than 12 years ago, the night before the 2009 NFL draft, when the Lions called to say they would select him and sign him to the richest rookie deal in NFL history.
This time, Stafford knew the work ahead—new team, new city, new teammates, plus heightened expectations. He also knew as well as any quarterback in the NFL how difficult it was to win, let alone a championship. But he was giddy, too. "I just got traded to the Rams,” Stafford said, “and I’m going to win a ring."
That prediction came to fruition on Sunday as the Rams topped the Bengals 23–20 to win Super Bowl LVI. Stafford threw for 283 yards and three touchdowns in the victory, adding two interceptions.
When asked Sunday about how he felt completing a first-year run to a Lombardi Trophy, Stafford told reporters, “I'm gonna have to think about it.”
“I know in the moment I didn't know what to think. I was just a little emotional and so happy to be a world champ,” Stafford said. “And so happy to be a part of this group. That's the biggest thing. It's not me, it's not any individual on this team. We're a group, we're a team. And to get it done together was so special.”
As Bishop and Orr wrote, “Call it fate or kismet, well planned or well executed. But the football team that trains near Hollywood had somehow delivered, in 365 days and two weeks, the perfect script, the end one last wink from the universe.”
And, as Stafford told Sports Illustrated four days before the Super Bowl, “Let’s just hope there’s another picture one year and two weeks after the first one.”
