Maybe the San Francisco 49ers weren’t as “included” for quarterback Matthew Stafford as everyone assumed. At least that’s what Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reported in his latest feature film.

Stafford wanted to go to California. After all, his family owns a home in Newport Beach, which is about 40 miles south of SoFi Stadium. According to Breer, the Los Angeles Rams were always his favorite destination, followed by the 49ers and Indianapolis Colts.

Saturday night, Stafford got his wish. The Detroit Lions traded the quarterback to the Rams in exchange for two future first-round picks, one third, and Jared Goff. It seemed like a big draw for the quarterback, who would soon be 33 years old. But at least part of the offer was to lure the lions to take on Goff’s salary. The result was an offer hard to beat. Clearly Los Angeles was all-in to Stafford and wanted to send Goff and his massive contract out of Southern California.

So how far did the conversations between the 49ers and the Lions go? It seems like it’s not far off. Breer reports that the two sides had some discussions in Mobile, Alabama, that led to the Senior Bowl, but that’s all they were: conversations. Nothing was about to be official, despite what everyone believed in Twitter rumors and speculation.

San Francisco had planned to continue talks with Detroit after the weekend, but then things warmed up on Saturday and the Lions came to measure the interest of the 49ers.

“I have a feeling the 12th team will never be offered,” wrote Breer, who agrees with what we had heard all last week: that the 49ers were doing their best to keep the No. 12 overall team out of the game. Of course, this always came with the warning that things could change quickly.

By the time Detroit arrived, things had clearly risen beyond what the 49ers were comfortable with, and the team had no problem moving past Stafford and advancing with Jimmy Garoppolo.

Breer also broke what other teams offered the Lions for Stafford.

  • The Carolina Panthers offered No. 8 overall pick in this year’s draft, in addition to a later selection.
  • The Washington football team offered the No. 19 general election with a third-round pick.
  • The Colts never offered their first round, but discussed pick-up packs and a player.
  • The Denver Broncos discussed a selection change with the Lions that would have been equal to a first-round pick. That went nowhere.
  • The New England Patriots discussed the possibility of making a second-round selection with a player, but were not on Stafford’s list of favorite destinations.
  • Talks with the Chicago Bears and New York Jets didn’t go very far.