It turns out that the Carolina Panthers were among the teams that made a bid in the Matthew Stafford sweepstakes. According to ESPN‘s Adam Schefter, the Panthers reportedly offered their 2021 eighth overall pick, a fifth-round pick, along with gunslinger Teddy Bridgewater to the Detroit Lions in exchange for the veteran quarterback.

After losing out on the proceedings, the Panthers continued on their ongoing search for a new starting quarterback after Bridgewater's debut campaign underwhelmed in the 2020 season. The former Louisville standout only generated 3,733 passing yards on 340 completions along with 15 touchdowns in 15 appearances. His production failed to power the Panthers to a winning season, as the team only settled for a 5-11 record.

Detroit garnered significant interest from a handful of teams but the Los Angeles Rams ultimately emerged as the Lions' trade partner. Rams head coach Sean McVay sent a 2021 third-round pick, 2022 and 2023 first-round picks, along with former QB1 Jared Goff in exchange for the services of Stafford.

The 12-year veteran capped his stint in Motor City with total tallies of 45,109 passing yards on 3,898 completions along with 282 touchdowns. The former Pro Bowler took the team to three postseason appearances and broke a myriad of league and franchise records along the way.

Stafford will aim to lead a Rams squad that concluded the 2020 season with a 10-6 record along with a trip to the NFC Divisional Round, where they got eliminated by the Green Bay Packers. Los Angeles' bid to acquire Matthew Stafford won't become official until March 17 which marks the start of the new league year.