49ers’ Jimmie Ward says Matthew Stafford is still the same QB who was in Detroit and didn’t make the playoffs

While 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan was upset that he lost Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams earlier this offseason, one of his players doesn’t seem too worried about what the veteran quarterback is bringing. to rival NFC West. Despite the arrival of Stafford making the Rams a popular choice to exit the NFC and threaten a Super Bowl in 2021, 49ers safety Jimmie Ward isn’t sure the quarterback will make as much of a difference as most. of the projects, citing the Lions’ inability to wrestle while Stafford was under center for them for the past 12 seasons.

“I love Stafford, but they’ll still have the same players they’ll throw the ball to,” Ward recently told SI.com’s Grant Cohn. “It’s the same quarterback that was on the Detroit Lions and they still didn’t make it to the playoffs, and they had Megatron [Calvin Johnson]. What was the problem there in Detroit? Are you going to blame the city? What was the problem? Was it the money? If the city didn’t have enough money to bring players there, why even have an NFL team? It’s a big question mark.

“They went to trade Jared Goff, who’s been to the playoffs several times and gone to the Super Bowl. Yeah, he lost. He went to the Super Bowl, though. I haven’t seen that with Matt Stafford yet. And I say, he’s still awesome. I think he’s a top 10 quarterback, maybe a top 5. I don’t know. We’ll see. I’m just stepping away from what I’m seeing . And I see Jared Goff brought these boys to the Super Bowl. “

Stafford has only reached the playoffs three times in his career and has yet to record a playoff victory. Meanwhile, Goff was able to help bring Los Angeles to the brink of a championship after reaching Super Bowl LIII. That said, Stafford is a definite improvement to the Rams quarterback in terms of talent. Will that result in a thorough playoff run that ends with a Lombardi Trophy? It remains to be seen. Los Angeles, however, has undoubtedly created a higher cap by bringing in Stafford, although it may have shortened its championship window given the quarterback’s age and contract status.

If they are able to reach the top of the proverbial mountain and win a championship, going all-in on Stafford will be well worth the bet and Ward will likely eat raven. If LA continues to be unable to break that glass ceiling, however, and Stafford’s playoff struggles continue, the Rams will have stepped back a bit to not be a legitimate contender.