The news had barely broken of the first NFL blockbuster trade of the offseason when the squabbles started.
No, the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams or even Matthew Stafford or Jared Goff were not involved in the squabble.
This one was among media professionals covering the NFL specifically Mike Silver of the NFL Network and Troy Aikman of FOX Sports.
There are at least four sides to this story, but we only have three of them.
Here’s what we know.
Mike Silver’s Side
Silver, who was born in San Francisco and raised in Los Angeles, reflected on the trade on Sunday.
A fantastic column here from @MikeSilver on the McVay/Goff split.
It was weird that Aikman was so lukewarm-to-glowing on just about every QB other than Goff.https://t.co/lxNh9fJutU pic.twitter.com/PqIzXul07O
— Tyler Dunne (@TyDunne) January 31, 2021
Sympathetic to Goff’s situation, Silver said:
“Routinely trashed this season on FOX telecasts, specifically those with Troy Aikman as the lead analyst, Goff could reasonably assume that McVay’s words about his quarterback’s play in network production meetings were far from glowing.”
The proverbial grenade thrown Aikman’s direction more than implied that Aikman was leaking McVay’s comments about Goff on the air during game broadcasts.
Troy Aikman’s Side
Aikman clearly did not appreciate being called out by Silver because he quickly responded:
“Unlike Michael Silver, I strive to be fair and balanced and do not have an agenda when doing my job," – Troy Aikman.
Damn!
— BTHRams (@BTH_Rams) February 1, 2021
“Unlike Michael Silver, I strive to be fair and balanced and do not have an agenda when doing my job. The record will show that I have been a strong supporter of Jared Goff’s over the years. Unfortunately for the Los Angeles Rams and Jared Goff, he did not perform at his best in the games that I broadcasted this season and I’m confident Jared would be the first to agree.”
He never addressed or renounced Silver’s accusation that McVay gave Aikman information that he leaked on air during the FOX broadcasts of Rams games.
Mike Florio’s Side
Florio who works for NBC initially reported on this back-and-forth.
He seemed eager to share scandalous news that did not pertain to him or his network; Florio’s words do not hide his glee.
“I love a good media squabble. Especially when I’m not involved in it. I’ll now try to address the latest one without landing in the crossfire.”
Sean McVay’s Side
The fourth side of the story is Rams Coach Sean McVay’s side.
Goff is now out of town so I suspect we won’t hear another word from McVay regarding Goff.
Who knows exactly what to believe in this situation?
Here’s what we do know.
The Rams were eager to unload Jared Goff, and they wasted no time doing so; Goff’s phone call with McVay informing him of the trade was very brief.
Jared Goff gets the benefit of a fresh start with an organization who clearly wants him.
People can evaluate the trade on paper in the upcoming months, but we won’t know for a few years who truly benefitted.
Goff is approaching the change with a great attitude.
When asked about the trade, he said:
“I’m just excited to be somewhere that I know wants me and appreciates me. I’m moving forward and couldn’t be more excited to build a winner there.. I’m excited about Dan (Campbell) and the whole staff.”
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