If it weren’t for Matthew Stafford, Aaron Rodgers might not be playing for the New York Jets. Maybe he would have picked the Rams.
Few will remember it this way because college football and NFL norms are changing so rapidly — there are no “norms” anymore — but Stafford’s request to be traded by the Detroit Lions in 2021 was historic. Stafford is hardly the best quarterback to ever be traded, but before 2021 they weren’t traded in the middle of their careers.
Johnny Unitas went to the Chargers when he was 40.