LA Rams: Keyshawn Johnson ‘I don’t know that the Rams are there yet.’

No fan of the Stafford trade

Keyshawn Johnson’s NFL career ended after the 2006 NFL season, but he has not stepped away from the NFL in the aftermath of his retirement. In 2007, just one year after his NFL career ended, his career as an NFL analyst for ESPN began. Johnsons’s transition into NFL radio and television was a natural transition. He was a former first-rounder in the NFL Draft and had successful career chapters with two of the NFL’s best gate draws in the New York Jets and the Dallas Cowboys.

He has a recognizable face, a very distinguishable voice, and like many East Coast players, an unmitigated opinion on anything remotely related to the NFL.  As the popularity of NFL televised broadcasts grew beyond the sidelines and broadcast booth, Johnson was tapped for his passionate delivery of a take that resonated in the NFL, regardless of the team.

When the LA Rams traded starting quarterback Jared Goff and three draft picks to the Detroit Lions for veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford, many applauded the move as a calculated risk and a now-or-never move by the Rams front office to try and improve the team. To no surprise, ESPN’s Keyshawn Johnson had a far different opinion on the topic.

He argues that trading so much for Matthew Stafford necessitates that the LA Rams WIN the Super Bowl.  In his argument, the Rams have already gotten to the Super Bowl with Goff. So the motivation to get Stafford must be due to the objective and belief that the LA Rams will not just get to the Super Bowl but downright win it.

But notice the challenges cited. Stafford is one. The LA Rams offensive line is another vulnerability cited. No first-round draft picks are mentioned (but not a major issue).  But Keyshawn Johnson ends the discussion point on this note: “If the Rams like it, I love it!”.  Well, that lasted all of three whole months.