The Detroit Lions recently traded longtime quarterback Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams for two first-round picks, a third-round pick, and quarterback Jared Goff. While plenty of teams had interest in trading for Stafford, he reportedly made it known that he did not want to go to the New England Patriots.
While it's not totally clear why Stafford felt this way, one has to think the return of former Lions head coach Matt Patricia to the Patriots is just one reason. New England also isn't in the best position in terms of skill players.
Former Patriot, three-time Super Bowl champion and Hall of Fame inductee Tedy Bruschi took Stafford to task for this. Bruschi believes Stafford doesn't have the mental toughness needed to play for head coach Bill Belichick and the Patriots organization.
Via Ryan Hannable of The Ticket 97.1 FM:
“He’s not tough enough to play here. He’s just not tough enough,” he said. “I don’t think he’s tough enough to be coached hard. Do you realize the mental toughness that Tom Brady had to have for 20 years to deal with Bill Belichick and that type of coaching? I mean, constant pressure every single day. Does Stafford sort of grab you as a guy who could handle that? I just don’t think so.”
Bruschi almost made it seem like it was a good thing Stafford didn't want to end up in New England. The Patriots legend clearly doesn't seem to be too big a fan of Stafford.
Stafford has only made it to the postseason three times in his career, and he didn't find much success in any of those playoff appearances. However, the Rams are set up to make a deep run if Stafford can indeed be an upgrade over Jared Goff. Rams fans should be happy to have their new star quarterback in place, even if Bruschi doesn't it see it with him.
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