On Sunday afternoon, the surprising Los Angeles Rams will be in Michigan to take on the NFC North champion Detroit Lions in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs.
It will mean Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford will return to Ford Field, the arena he called home from 2009 until two seasons ago when he was traded to L.A.
The Rams acquired him from Detroit for Jared Goff, who has seemingly raised his game over the last couple of seasons and guided the Lions to a 12-5 record this season.
There doesn’t seem to be any hard feelings for Goff on the part of the Rams, and per Jourdan Rodrique, Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald shared his message to Goff before the game.
“Aaron Donald said he reached out to former teammate Jared Goff on Tuesday to tell him he’s proud of him,” Rodrique wrote.
Aaron Donald said he reached out to former teammate Jared Goff on Tuesday to tell him he’s proud of him.
Donald said it’s clear Goff has grown a lot and he reiterated a couple times he’s been happy to see it.
— Jourdan Rodrigue (@JourdanRodrigue) January 11, 2024
When Goff was with Los Angeles, he made the Pro Bowl in 2017 and 2018, and the 2018 season saw him take them to the Super Bowl where they were put to sleep by the New England Patriots.
His level of play fell afterward, and the team decided he simply wasn’t the man to lead them to the promised land.
He was essentially swapped for Stafford prior to the 2021 campaign, and right away, Stafford led the Rams to their first Super Bowl championship in Southern California (they had previously won it all in 1999 while in St. Louis).
This season, the Rams have a somewhat different cast, including sensational rookie wide receiver Puka Nacua and rookie defensive lineman Kobie Turner.
While Detroit is favored to win Sunday’s game, the Rams finished the regular season winning seven of their last eight games, and thus anything is possible for them.
The post Aaron Donald Shares His Message He Told Jared Goff appeared first on The Cold Wire.