The Detroit Lions made two major personnel moves on Saturday afternoon, moving on from head coach Matt Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn following several underwhelming performances.
Principle team owner Sheila Ford Hamp then proceeded to stay mum on the future of quarterback Matthew Stafford in Detroit, saying that decision would be up to the new team coaching staff.
“Well, since I’m not the coach, I’m probably not the right person to ask that question to,” Hamp said. “We’ll see what the new coach has to say.”
Stafford, whom the Lions selected first overall in the 2009 NFL Draft, has two years remaining on the five-year contract he agreed to in 2017.
Notable figures including the likes of former Lions QB Dan Orlovsky have suggested that it would be best for both parties to move on from one another.
Additionally, ESPN’s Adam Schefter suggested that he wouldn’t be surprised if such a move was made during an interview on “Schlerth & Evans” on Denver’s 104.3 The Fan:
@AdamSchefter on Schlerth & Evans on the odds QB Matthew Stafford will be traded: "Probably, pretty decent. I definitely think that's within the realm of possibility:" #Lions
— Pigskin Snitches (@PigskinSnitches) December 3, 2020
If such a move was ultimately made, $19 million of Stafford’s $33 million salary would be counted as dead money against the salary cap.
– – Quotes via Dave Birkett of The Detroit Free Press Link – –
Stafford should have been been gone years ago he not a winner he no longer a starting quarterback he a backup quarterback