Let me begin by saying that this is a piece I never thought I would be writing before the end of the 2020 regular season as I have been one of Matthew Stafford‘s biggest supporters for quite some time now.
That being said, I truly believe Stafford will be playing for a team other than the Detroit Lions in 2021 and it will be a move that will be mutually beneficial to both parties.
You see, after firing Matt Patricia and Bob Quinn, it very clear that the Lions are going to have to rebuild a roster that Quinn and Patricia single-handedly drove into the ground.
Stafford will be 33 years old by the time the 2021 season kicks off and with Father Time sparing nobody, it is only a matter of time before his time in the NFL runs out and there is no way he is going to want to wait around through another rebuild.
Because of that, I not only think that Stafford will request a trade behind the scenes (we will likely never hear about it) but I also think it would be wise for the Lions to trade him to the highest bidder, who will likely offer a first-round pick.
So, if Stafford is traded, who will be the Lions quarterback of the future?
Well, the answer to this question really depends on where the Lions end up selecting in the 2021 NFL Draft. As we speak, the Lions currently hold the No. 12 spot in the draft but that could go up or down depending on how the rest of the season plays out.
That being said, unless the Lions can get into the top eight in the 2021 draft, I think they will miss out on Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields, Trey Lance, and Zach Wilson.
So, if the Lions do miss out on the top four QB options, what will they do? My guess is that they will grab LB Michael Parsons or one of the top receivers such as Ja’Marr Chase or Jaylen Waddle.
But what they will do and what they should do are two very different things.
If the Lions trade Stafford and then miss out on one of the top four QB options in the draft, their best move would be to trade down and then and then select the 2020 Heisman Trophy winner, Kyle Trask out of Florida.
I know what you are thinking right now. “This guy is an idiot, the Heisman Trophy winner has not even been announced yet!”
Well, you would be right about that but I would be willing to make a hefty wager that he will bring home the trophy.
Trask has had an amazing 2020 campaign (better than Joe Burrow had in 2019 through their first nine games) and though he won’t be one of the top four QBs off the board, I think he could end up being better than both Lance and Wilson and maybe even Fields.
Nation, if the Lions do move on from Matthew Stafford, would you like to see them select Kyle Trask in the 2021 NFL Draft?
my thougth is YES, this kid knows how to score points not just put up numbers