NFL

Call it naivete if you want, but the Rams thought the trade was good for both the present (2021 season) and the long term. The present is obvious, but they felt they had a guy they'd get many good years from in Stafford and that they were only a QB away. They had been dealing away high picks (while quietly accumulating late picks) for years and the system stayed sustainable so they figured they could keep it going. Things falling apart in 2022 was not according to plan though to be fair, no one thought the Rams would collapse like that before the season started. This year, moves were made in a reaction to 2022 to rebuil--err--"re-tool". But even then, the idea has been Stafford is our long term QB and we'll be a contender again in 2024 with all our picks and a lot of open cap space. You can call some of that delusional, but that's been the thinking from this team.