Ok, I have had just about enough of the “Matthew Stafford is leaving the Detroit Lions” and “The Detroit Lions are going to trade Matthew Stafford” make-believe bull-honky, just as many of you have. That being said, when Dan Orlovsky, who is a good friend of Stafford, talks about Matthew potentially playing elsewhere in the very near future, it’s worth listening to.
Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press recently spoke to Orlovsky about Stafford’s chances of making the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and Orlovsky seems extremely confident.
“I don’t think it’s even going to be a question,” he said.
Orlovsky said he believes Stafford will either win with the Lions in 2020 or a winning team will trade for him prior to the 2021 season.
“His numbers will be great,” Orlovsky said. “I’ll keep it 100 with you, like, listen, he’s either going to win there this year or a winner’s going to come get him. I think if a winner comes gets him, or a team that’s on the brink of winning, is a quarterback away, I think that people will finally get to see him on a team that is fully complementary and supports that quarterback play, similar to the 2014 team. Or the 2011 team in some capacities.
“But I think that, maybe I’m stupid and naïve and biased, I just think eventually he’ll either win there or will be on a winner (if he doesn’t) because of it.”
Birkett added that Orlovsky said he can see a couple of scenarios happening following the 2020 season. The first scenario would be a contending team trading for Stafford, whose contract expires in 2022, and the second scenario would come into play if the Lions don’t win enough in 2020 and a new regime comes in and decides to go in a different direction.
“I think in both cases you could justify it,” Orlovsky said. “I’ve said this publicly and I’ve said it to Matthew, listen, if they don’t win, it’s probably the right decision. And they didn’t not win because of him, but you can totally sit there and go, ‘All right, we tried, it didn’t happen, let’s totally reboot.’ “
“He’s just focused on like, ‘Listen, I think we got a good team. I was playing really, really good last year. I feel good, healthy. Like, I think I’ve got plenty of years of really good football left in me,’ ” Orlovsky said. “Listen, everyone knows he’s smart, so he’s aware. He knows what the reality of the NFL is.”
As far as Stafford playing MVP-level football in 2020? Orlovsky says it’s more likely than now.
“I even (said) this to his face, I said, ‘Dude, sometimes people caveat with, do you think he’l play well?’ ” Orlovsky said. “And I’m like, ‘When did he not play well?’ And to his credit, he thought he did not play well two years ago, so I kind of differed on that a little bit, but he’s going to play well. Will he be MVP-level football (this year)? I would say more likely than not likely.”
–Quotes via Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press– (LINK)
