The Los Angeles Rams wanted to trade for Christian McCaffrey, and now we know what they offered to the Carolina Panthers.
It turns out the last two teams that Christian McCaffrey played against were doing more than just trying to beat him — they were trying to acquire him.
The San Francisco 49ers traded for McCaffrey on Thursday, less than two weeks removed from playing a game in Charlotte against the Panthers. Last week the Los Angeles Rams beat the Panthers at SoFi but it turns out they were trying to get McCaffrey to stay in the building.
Multiple teams were reportedly in on a possibly McCaffrey trade leading up to the blockbuster deal on Thursday. The Buffalo Bills called the Panthers inquiring about their asking price this offseason but nothing came of those talks. It sounds like despite their interest, the Bills weren’t offering competing offers this past week.
The Rams were, though.
According to Peter Schrager, the Rams offered virtually the same trade package for McCaffrey that the 49ers did.
Rams proposed trade for Christian McCaffrey revealed
Rams Get
RB – Christian McCaffrey
Panthers Get
2023 2nd Rd Pick
2023 3rd Rd Pick
2023 5th Rd Pick
The dealbreaker appears to be San Francisco’s inclusion of a fourth round pick in this year’s draft. John Lynch sent a fifth round pick as part of the Niners package but it will be in 2024.
Other than that, two NFC West rivals offered almost the same exact package, once again proving how much Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan think alike.
The idea of Shanahan adding McCaffrey to his offensive arsenal is almost unfair, and the same could be said if McVay had landed him. It’s also worth noting that while they also seem to think alike when it comes to offensive scheming, both McVay and Shanahan apparently hate draft picks with the same burning passion.
Los Angeles has traded first and second day picks for players like Brandin Cooks, Jalen Ramsey, Von Miller, and Matthew Stafford, and was angling to do the same thing again for McCaffrey. To be fair, the Rams did win the Super Bowl last year largely thanks to the Stafford-Miller-Ramsey deals, and likely would have revamped their otherwise stagnant season with the acquisition of McCaffrey.
Shanahan has similarly tossed picks away without much care. The Niners traded a haul to move up in the NFL Draft to select Trey Lance to be the quarterback of the future and now sent essentially the rest of its 2023 class to the Panthers for McCaffrey. Shanahan doesn’t have a Super Bowl ring, but he’s brought the Niners within minutes of winning one and to the NFC Championship Game in 2021.
