DETROIT -- Surrounded by close friends on the patio of his Hidden Hills, California, home, Jared Goff received an urgent call on the evening of Jan. 30, 2021.

"I have to take this," Goff said, while walking inside the house.

Shortly afterward, the classic "da-da-da, da-da-da" alert notification from ESPN landed on the phones of the pals he had left behind with breaking news that Goff, who had just completed his fifth NFL season, had been traded from the Los Angeles Rams to the Detroit Lions for veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford . The deal marked the first direct swap of former No. 1 picks in NFL history.

"At the time, their reputation ... the Lions, hadn't had a lot of success, and that wasn't a mystery. Even I was thinking, 'He's being cast off in a way,'" said Cam Croteau,

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