While buzz on Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford being traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers is picking up, former NFL quarterback Chase Daniel is pushing back. Though Stafford is the most talented veteran option potentially available this offseason, Daniel thinks Pittsburgh trading for Stafford would be a move the franchise would come to regret.
“Should the Steelers do it?” Daniel said on FS1’s The Facility Monday morning. “No. Two reasons. The dude needs protection to be really good. The Steelers’ offensive line is not that. That’s the reason why they started Justin Fields. Why Russell Wilson’s ankle was hurt. So he can run around, so he can buy time in the pocket. And even Russ was getting out of pocket. Stafford is a true pocket passer…I feel like he might get hurt behind that offensive line.”
While Daniel’s overall point might be sound, there are a couple details to clean up. Wilson suffered a calf injury, not an ankle ailment. And Wilson wasn’t hurt because of the Steelers’ offensive line. He suffered the injury the day before training camp while pushing a sled during the team’s conditioning test and then re-injured the calf early in practice 72 hours before the regular season began. Neither had anything to do with deficiencies along the Steelers’ offensive line.
But it’s fair to believe Pittsburgh lacks the infrastructure to maximize Stafford. The offensive line is young and had an average-to-below 2024 season. Wilson took plenty of hits behind a front five that wilted as the season went along. Offensive tackles Dan Moore Jr. and Broderick Jones limped to the finish line while the youth up front tired into December and January. Pittsburgh is banking on a young o-line developing and growing into a top unit, a “must” for 2025. Daniel isn’t considering the improvement the group could show not to mention the return of OT Troy Fautanu, who missed nearly his entire rookie year with a knee injury.
Still, Daniel thinks it would be the wrong move, calling it a “ridiculous” notion and that Stafford going to the Minnesota Vikings is a much better idea. He also noted that Stafford has never played for an outdoor team, playing in a dome in Detroit and under a roof (that’s partially open) in sunny Los Angeles. Stafford played outdoors at Georgia but didn’t experience the harsh winters he would in Pittsburgh.
“I think it would set their franchise back,” Daniel said.
Stafford would get Pittsburgh closer to its target than any other quarterback option readily available. He could break their eight-season drought of failing to win a playoff game. But it’s fair to wonder if he could truly compete to win a Super Bowl and go toe to toe with the likes of Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, especially with a less-creative coaching staff and arguably worse supporting cast. If Stafford can’t bring that, the Steelers could make minimal progress while spending plenty of money and draft capital to acquire him.
