5 Matthew Stafford trade destinations (the Giants!) if the Rams can’t sign him to a contract extension

It’s no secret the Steelers have needed a viable, difference-making quarterback for a while now. Their lack of a difference-making offensive signal-caller has been inarguably the biggest reason their recent ceiling has been capped out as an above-average wild-card playoff team. For as great of a coach as Mike Tomlin is, you can’t win in January without an exceptional quarterback who makes everyone better.

Here’s a list of every quarterback who has started a game for Pittsburgh since Ben Roethlisberger left the organization:

• Kenny Pickett
• Mitchell Trubisky
• Mason Rudolph
• Justin Fields
• Russell Wilson

That, in no uncertain terms, is rough. Getting someone genuinely elite like Stafford, even while older, would go a long way toward the Steelers’ chances of hanging with the AFC’s heavyweights for once.

The Raiders could theoretically get their quarterback of the future in April’s draft. However, such a move would likely require either a trade-up for one of the top two prospects (Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders) or hoping there’s a run on other positions so one of those two young men falls to their draft slot. The easier move (albeit one with a much shorter shelf life), especially for a win-now and injection-of-energy coach like Pete Carroll, would be acquiring an established veteran like Stafford.

In the event of a Stafford trade, Las Vegas would have to address its mostly barren skill-position group on offense. But you can do much worse than a general foundation featuring potential superstar tight end Brock Bowers and a solid security valve receiver like Jakobi Meyers.

The Giants have been the most strongly linked team to Stafford amidst these trade rumors. That’s because the connection itself makes a lot of sense. In a possible lame-duck year for Big Blue, general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll aren’t exactly in a position to wade through murky waters with an inexperienced quarterback. Getting Stafford in the fold to throw dimes to No. 1 receiver Malik Nabers and work with underrated multipurpose tailback Tyrone Tracy Jr. might be enough to transform the Giants back into a playoff contender. The key caveat here, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, is that the Giants will almost certainly not trade the No. 3 overall pick in the draft to acquire Stafford.

If the Rams are deadset on that draft pick as compensation for Stafford’s services (never mind that he would have to be extended with a huge short-term contract), that might be a big enough impasse to stall potential trade talks with New York.

I know what you’re thinking. Do the Jets, with a no-nonsense coach like Aaron Glenn, really want to run it back with an older quarterback like Stafford after the disaster that was the Aaron Rodgers era? If you’re against this assertion, that’s totally fair. You’re probably thinking logically and rationally.

Here’s my counterpoint: Woody Johnson’s Jets do not think logically and rationally. At all. They’ve made decisions based on Madden ratings, dearest readers. Plus, Stafford, at age 37, is a considerably better player than the ghost of Rodgers when he joined the Jets. He would also allow the Jets to maximize their top receiver duo of Davante Adams and Garrett Wilson instead of jettisoning them.

I’m just saying the idea of Stafford on the Jets isn’t that absurd … even with Gang Green’s precedent of stepping on rakes over the years.

All reasonable signs indicate the Titans are moving on from the failed Will Levis experiment. That’s what happens after a three-win season that earned Tennessee the No. 1 overall pick. But just because the Titans have this year’s top draft selection doesn’t mean they’re definitely drafting a hopeful franchise quarterback. General manager Mike Borgonzi has alluded to the Titans not passing on a “generational talent,” which sounds a lot more like Travis Hunter or Abdul Carter than it does any available quarterback prospect.

A sound on-paper offseason for the Titans, especially if they’re intent on winning in the immediate future, would be getting its coveted generational young player while trading for Stafford to bolster their chances in the decidedly mediocre AFC South.

It’s no secret the Steelers have needed a viable, difference-making quarterback for a while now. Their lack of a difference-making offensive signal-caller has been inarguably the biggest reason their recent ceiling has been capped out as an above-average wild-card playoff team. For as great of a coach as Mike Tomlin is, you can’t win in January without an exceptional quarterback who makes everyone better.

Here’s a list of every quarterback who has started a game for Pittsburgh since Ben Roethlisberger left the organization:

• Kenny Pickett
• Mitchell Trubisky
• Mason Rudolph
• Justin Fields
• Russell Wilson

That, in no uncertain terms, is rough. Getting someone genuinely elite like Stafford, even while older, would go a long way toward the Steelers’ chances of hanging with the AFC’s heavyweights for once.

The Raiders could theoretically get their quarterback of the future in April’s draft. However, such a move would likely require either a trade-up for one of the top two prospects (Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders) or hoping there’s a run on other positions so one of those two young men falls to their draft slot. The easier move (albeit one with a much shorter shelf life), especially for a win-now and injection-of-energy coach like Pete Carroll, would be acquiring an established veteran like Stafford.

In the event of a Stafford trade, Las Vegas would have to address its mostly barren skill-position group on offense. But you can do much worse than a general foundation featuring potential superstar tight end Brock Bowers and a solid security valve receiver like Jakobi Meyers.

The Giants have been the most strongly linked team to Stafford amidst these trade rumors. That’s because the connection itself makes a lot of sense. In a possible lame-duck year for Big Blue, general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll aren’t exactly in a position to wade through murky waters with an inexperienced quarterback. Getting Stafford in the fold to throw dimes to No. 1 receiver Malik Nabers and work with underrated multipurpose tailback Tyrone Tracy Jr. might be enough to transform the Giants back into a playoff contender. The key caveat here, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, is that the Giants will almost certainly not trade the No. 3 overall pick in the draft to acquire Stafford.

If the Rams are deadset on that draft pick as compensation for Stafford’s services (never mind that he would have to be extended with a huge short-term contract), that might be a big enough impasse to stall potential trade talks with New York.

I know what you’re thinking. Do the Jets, with a no-nonsense coach like Aaron Glenn, really want to run it back with an older quarterback like Stafford after the disaster that was the Aaron Rodgers era? If you’re against this assertion, that’s totally fair. You’re probably thinking logically and rationally.

Here’s my counterpoint: Woody Johnson’s Jets do not think logically and rationally. At all. They’ve made decisions based on Madden ratings, dearest readers. Plus, Stafford, at age 37, is a considerably better player than the ghost of Rodgers when he joined the Jets. He would also allow the Jets to maximize their top receiver duo of Davante Adams and Garrett Wilson instead of jettisoning them.

I’m just saying the idea of Stafford on the Jets isn’t that absurd … even with Gang Green’s precedent of stepping on rakes over the years.

All reasonable signs indicate the Titans are moving on from the failed Will Levis experiment. That’s what happens after a three-win season that earned Tennessee the No. 1 overall pick. But just because the Titans have this year’s top draft selection doesn’t mean they’re definitely drafting a hopeful franchise quarterback. General manager Mike Borgonzi has alluded to the Titans not passing on a “generational talent,” which sounds a lot more like Travis Hunter or Abdul Carter than it does any available quarterback prospect.

A sound on-paper offseason for the Titans, especially if they’re intent on winning in the immediate future, would be getting its coveted generational young player while trading for Stafford to bolster their chances in the decidedly mediocre AFC South.