When the Rams traded Jared Goff along with their next two first-round picks and a third-rounder to the Lions to acquire Matthew Stafford, it marked the end of the line for the former first-overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.
Goff's tenure in Los Angeles included a 42-27 record, one Super Bowl trip and a 3-3 record in the postseason.
Most teams would sign up for that over a four-year period. But the Rams had give up so much to move up to the top spot in the 2016 draft to acquire Goff, it just wasn't going to be good enough.
What did the haul for Goff look like?
How about offensive tackle Jack Conklin, defensive tackle Austin Johnson, running back Derrick Henry and wide receiver Corey Davis?
Those were some of the players the Titans acquired in the trade with the Rams, who sent their 2016 first-round pick, two second-round and one third-round pick that same year, and their first and second-round picks in 2017 to Tennessee for the top pick in 2016 along with fourth-round and sixth-round selections that year.
Doubling down on that last week, the Rams sent their first-round picks in 2022 and 2023 and a third-round selection this year to the Lions to acquire Stafford, who will turn 33 this year and has never won a playoff game in his 12 NFL seasons and has twice broken bones in his back.
With that and some of the other deals the Rams have made -- including trading two first-round picks to the Jaguars for cornerback Jalen Ramsey -- the franchise will go seven consecutive seasons without a first-round pick, with four of those first rounders spent trying to fix their quarterback position.
Such is life in the NFL when you're chasing a quarterback.
That's why the Steelers will sit down with Ben Roethlisberger this week and begin the process of trying to figure out how to bring the future Hall of Fame quarterback back for an 18th season in 2021.
Getting on the quarterback carousel can be a dicey -- and expensive -- process.
It's why teams are so willing to give up draft picks or take big chances on aging quarterbacks in an attempt to chase the ring. Sometimes, it works out perfectly, as it did for the Buccaneers Sunday night with their Super Bowl win against the Chiefs. Other times, you take a big swing and miss, such as the Bears moving up in the draft to acquire Mitchell Trubisky.
Obviously, acquiring a veteran quarterback is more safe. But it also comes with a higher monetary price tag and less of a window.
While Tampa Bay is celebrating a Super Bowl win, it also knows the window to win with the 43-year-old Tom Brady is a short one. And sometime soon, the marriage will come to an abrupt end.
In the years between when Terry Bradshaw retired in 1983 and Roethlisberger was drafted in 2004, the Steelers tried doing it both ways. In 1980, they selected Mark Malone in the first round of the draft, thinking they had Bradshaw's eventual successor.
They then passed on taking a quarterback in the historic 1983 draft -- most notably Dan Marino -- after Bradshaw failed to mention he underwent what would turn into career-ending Tommy John surgery in the offseason at home in Louisiana.
That sent the Steelers into a quarterback wasteland. Cliff Stout, a fifth-round pick in 1977, started 15 games in 1983, helping the team to the playoffs. But he left for the fledgling USFL before the 1984 season, turning things over to Malone. And David Woodley. And Scott Campbell. And Bubby Brister. And Todd Blackledge, a former first-round pick of the Chiefs.
You get the idea.
The highest the team selected a quarterback in the draft in the years between Bradshaw's retirement and Roethlisberger's selection came in 1995 when it selected Kordell Stewart in the second round.
But in recent years, teams have been more aggressive than ever before in moving up in the draft, as witnessed by what the Rams have done. And the Steelers might have to follow suit.
Will the Steelers be willing to make a move such as that? In the past two years, they have traded up in the first round to acquire linebacker Devin Bush and also dealt a future first-round pick for safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, so the answer would seem to be yes to making a move to get a player at the most important position on the field.
The Steelers own the 24th pick in this year's draft, which means they would have to give up a big haul that would surpass that of either of those moves to get into range to take one of the top quarterbacks in this draft.
A look back, however, shows that the cost can be hit-and-miss, as well. It's an interesting dilemma.
Between 2004, when Roethlisberger, Philip Rivers and Eli Manning, and the 2016 draft, there were 32 quarterbacks selected in the first round. Of those, only Roethlisberger, Aaron Rodgers and Matt Ryan are still with the team that drafted them if the Eagles trade Carson Wentz as expected.
Beyond the aforementioned move the Rams made for Goff, here are a look at some of what was spent on acquiring quarterbacks from 2016 through 2018, both the good moves and the bad:
Eagles trade up to No. 2 for Carson Wentz: The Eagles made two moves to get up to the second spot. First, they sent the 13th pick, which would be used on Pro Bowl offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil, cornerback Byron Maxwell and linebacker Kiko Alonso to the Dolphins for the 8th pick in the first round.
The Eagles then sent the 8th pick, 2016 third and fourth-round selections, a 2017 first-round pick and a 2018 second-round selection to the Browns for the second pick in the 2016 draft, which they used to take Wentz.
Many of those picks were again traded by the Browns -- who were into acquiring future picks at the time -- but among the players they were turned into include Conklin, who has since joined Cleveland via a free agent deal, and quarterback Deshaun Watson after Houston traded up in 2017 to the 12th spot to acquire him.
The Eagles won the Super Bowl at the end of the 2017 season, but did so after Wentz was injured with Nick Foles at quarterback. The Eagles are expected to trade Wentz sometime soon.
Texans trade up for Deshaun Watson: The Texans were looking for a trade partner to move up from 25th in 2017 for Watson. The Browns, who had three first-round picks that year, were happy to oblige.
They got Houston's first-round pick in 2017 and in 2018 for the 12th pick in that draft, which they had acquired from the Eagles (Cleveland took defensive end Myles Garrett first-overall that year).
The Texans got Watson, a franchise quarterback, whom they gave a 4-year, $156-million contract extension prior to the 2020 season. But he's also now demanding a trade, at least in part because the Texans have been so poorly run, they have no talent around him.
The Browns? They took safety Jabrill Peppers, whom they later traded to the Giants along with guard Kevin Zeitler, a first-round pick in 2019 and a third-round pick that year for wide receiver Odell Beckham and defensive lineman Olivier Vernon.
The Browns could make that move because the pick they got from Houston in 2017 was fourth overall. They used that on cornerback Denzel Ward after taking quarterback Baker Mayfield first-overall that year.
Chiefs trade up for Patrick Mahomes: Having gone 12-4 in 2016, the Chiefs were picking 27th in 2017. But they coveted quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
They found a trade partner to move up to 10th pick in the Bills, sending the 27th selection, a third-round pick that year and Kansas City's 2018 first-round pick to Buffalo for the 10th selection, which was used on Mahomes.
The Bills used those picks to take Pro Bowl cornerback Tre'Davious White 27th in 2017, then packaged the other picks to make moves to get offensive tackle Dion Dawkins, wide receiver Zay Jones, and linebacker Tremaine Edmunds the next season.
The Chiefs have since given Mahomes a 10-year, $450-million contract extension and won one Super Bowl and been to another. They did, however, face the Bills in this season's AFC Championship, with White, Dawkins and Edmunds playing key roles for Buffalo.
Bears move up for Mitchell Trubisky: This one is a puzzler. Picking third in a draft that included future starts Mahomes and Watson, the Bears took the first quarterback selected. But they moved up one spot from three to two to do it.
They sent the third-overall pick along with third and fourth-round picks in the 2017 draft and a third-round selection in 2018 to the 49ers to move up that one spot and acquire Trubisky.
San Francisco used the pick on defensive lineman Solomon Thomas, traded the third-round selection to the Saints, who used it on running back Alvin Kamara, for a 2018 second-round pick and a seventh-round selection. Washington used that pick to take running back Derrius Guice, who is now out of the NFL, while the 49ers took wide receiver Dante Pettis, who is completely out of favor in San Francisco.
The Bears and 49ers declined to pick up the fifth-year options on Trubisky and Thomas, meaning both will be unrestricted free agents next month. The only real winner in this trade was New Orleans, which landed Kamara.
Ravens trade up for Lamar Jackson: Having already selected tight end Hayden Hurst earlier in the first round in 2018, the Ravens wanted to get back into the end of the first round to get quarterback Jackson. They found a trade partner in the Eagles.
Baltimore send its second-round pick (52) and a fourth-round selection in 2018, along with a 2019 second-round pick, to the Eagles to move up and take Jackson with the 32nd selection.
The Eagles used those picks to acquire tight end Dallas Goedert, running back Miles Sanders and cornerback Avonte Maddox. All three are starters.
Jackson was the 2019 NFL MVP and the Ravens will give him a contract extension in the offseason that could rival that of the one given to Mahomes.
Cardinals move up for Josh Rosen: Ouch. The Cardinals traded their first-round pick (15th) and third and fifth-round selections in 2018 to move up to the Raiders to move up to the 10th spot and take Rosen.
The Raiders used those picks on offensive tackle Kolton Miller in the first round and traded the others. Rosen didn't make it into his second season with the Cardinals and is now with his fourth team.
Bills go up to get Josh Allen: After moving out of a spot where they could have taken Watson the year before, the Bills made a trade up to get Allen.
They sent the 12th-overall pick along with their two second-round selections (53 and 56) thanks to the Watson trade, to the Buccaneers
The Bills took Allen, who took three years to develop into one of the better quarterbacks in the league.
Tampa Bay took nose tackle Vita Vea at 12, then selected cornerback M.J. Stewart in the second round. They traded the second second-round pick to the Patriots, then used those selections on cornerback Carlton Davis and safety Jordan Whitehead. Vea, Davis and Whitehead were all starters in the team's Super Bowl win, while Stewart has already been released.
Jets trade up for Sam Darnold: Picking sixth in the 2018 draft, the Jets could have stayed where they were at and taken Allen or Jackson. Instead, they moved up to the third spot to take Darnold, sending their first-round pick along with two second-round picks in 2018 and a second-round pick in 2019 to the Colts.
The Jets are considering taking another quarterback this year and if they do, Darnold could be traded.
The Colts, meanwhile, took All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson with the sixth-overall pick, then filled another starting spot on their offensive line with the Jets' second-round selection, taking Braden Smith. They traded the other second-round pick to the Eagles, who took Goedert, then used the second-round pick in 2019 on cornerback Rock Ya-Sin.