Dave Birkett | Detroit Free Press
The outgoing Detroit Lions quarterback is helping his replacement get acquainted to town.
Matthew Stafford said Monday on “The Mitch Albom Show” that he and L.A. Rams quarterback Jared Goff have exchanged text messages recently about their new homes.
The Lions agreed to trade Stafford to the Rams for Goff and three draft picks last month. The trade cannot become official until the start of the new league year March 17.
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“I shot him a text,” Stafford said. “We texted a little bit. Just told him that I know going out there I got big shoes to fill. It’s not lost on me that he was in the Super Bowl just a few years ago. So he’s a really good player in his own right.”
Goff helped the Rams reach the Super Bowl two seasons ago, when he threw for career-highs of 4,688 yards and 32 touchdowns.
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The Rams won nine games each of the past two seasons, but Goff’s play slipped to the point that the Rams were looking to unload his massive contract.
In Detroit, Goff, 26, is expected to be the Lions’ Week 1 starter, where he will replace Stafford in what should be a new-look offense.
Stafford, 33, holds franchise records in most passing categories, but led the Lions to just three playoff appearances in 12 seasons as a starter.
The Lions are in the midst of a complete organizational overhaul. They hired a new coach in Dan Campbell and a new general manager in Brad Holmes last month, and hope to use the draft capital acquired in the Goff trade — a third-round pick this year and first-round choices in 2022-23 — to build a consistent Super Bowl contender.
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Stafford said he reached to Goff “to let him know that I appreciate him as a player.”
“And obviously to reach out to me if there was anything he needed when it comes to Detroit, just as far as advice or places to stay, anything,” Stafford said. “I know that he feels that he can reach out to me and I know I can reach out to him with anything in L.A., too, so it’s been good.”
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.