Much in thanks to Matthew Stafford, the Detroit Lions were able to win nine games in 2016 and qualify for the NFL Playoffs. Unfortunately, things did not turn out as planned as the Lions ended up falling flat on their faces against the Seattle Seahawks in the first round and they now have an entire offseason to figure out how to get better.
The most important (no-brainer) decision that Bob Quinn make is whether or not he will sign Stafford to an extension. The Lions signal-caller is under contract through the 2017 season but if the Lions upper management has even half a brain, Stafford will be tossing footballs in the Motor City for a long time.
When asked about potentially working out an extension with the Lions this offseason, Stafford did not have much to say other than that the ball is in the Lions court.
*Quotes from DetroitLions.com:
“I’m not going to deal in hypotheticals,” Stafford said. “If (the Lions) come to me, they come to me, if they don’t, they don’t. I’ll talk to you guys about it then.”
He also emphasized that signing an extension this offseason is something that is not up to him and that his top offseason priorities have nothing to do with the Lions.
“It’s up to the people upstairs and the Fords and whether they want to or not,” Stafford said. “It’s not on the forefront of my mind at the moment. I have a lot of things going on personally that are important to me, so I’ll figure that out when I need to.”
You see, Stafford and his wife Kelly are expecting twins this spring and they are clearly what is most important to the Lions quarterback.
In 2016, Stafford completed over 65% of his passes for 4,327 yards and 24 touchdowns. In fact, Stafford was playing so well that he was square in the middle of the NFL MVP talk until the last quarter of the season when the Lions started to lose.
Note: As a father, I can tell you right now, if the Lions want to get a deal done with Stafford this offseason, they had better do so BEFORE those twins come, because when they do, his time will be VERY limited!
