One major trade that went down the past few weeks inside the NFL was the D’Andre Swift trade, in which the Detroit Lions traded the running back to the Philadelphia Eagles.

As it turns out, they didn’t want to trade him to the Eagles. At least, it wasn’t their first choice. They wanted to trade him to a different NFC team.

Swift, of course, was traded to the Eagles, which works, because he’s from Philadelphia. The Lions only got basically a future fourth-round pick for trading Swift, likely due to his injury history and the fact the running back position is becoming less and less valuable.

D’Andre Swift trade: Where was he supposed to go?

Well, the Lions actually were hoping to trade Swift to the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams turned down the chance, so Detroit went with what was likely their backup choice, being Philly.

According to Jake Ellenbogen, the Detroit Lions called the Rams during the draft to talk about trading Swift. “The Rams declined and Detroit ended up moving him to the #Eagles,” he tweeted.

It’s a mystery as to what the Lions were asking the Rams for in a possible Swift trade. But, the fact the Lions were looking to trade Swift wasn’t a mystery. The Lions really took care of that running back position when then they drafted running back Jahmyr Gibbs in the first round, as well as when they signed the Bears’ David Montgomery for the position. Frankly, with Montgomery in the fold, the Lions’ offense is looking better than ever going into the next season.

Of course, this deal was sweet for Swift. He’s probably much happier than he would have been with the Rams. For one, he’s in his hometown. But, perhaps even a bigger deal is the fact he’s with a team that made it to the Super Bowl last season. He could be at that big game in 2024, and that’s reason for him to celebrate.

Meanwhile, at least the Rams have picked up some quarterbacks to back up Matthew Stafford.