For those of you who have read my work over the past six years or so, you are well aware that I am a huge Matthew Stafford supporter. He has elite talent but has played for the Detroit Lions, a franchise that has never been able to figure out how to hire a good head coach or a good general manager.
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Over the past few years, there has been tons of chatter about whether or not the Lions should move on from Stafford to go in a different direction, as if he is the reason why the team is losing.
Now, that being said, as big of a supporter I am of Stafford, I will be the first to admit that he has not played up to his standards in 2020. He has had some good moments but, unfortunately, those good moments have been outweighed by the bad moments. Because of this, the “trade Matthew Stafford” speculation is well underway and, to be honest, it is probably warranted.
Stafford to the Cowboys, Stafford to the 49ers, Stafford to the Broncos, Stafford to the Colts.
Those are some of the possibilities I have seen mentioned over the past week or so but I am not buying any of it. Not even for one second.
I believe Matthew Stafford will play out his current contract with the Lions for a couple of reasons.
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First, I don’t think the Lions are bad enough to “earn” a top 5 draft pick or so, which means they will not be able to select Trevor Lawrence or Justin Fields. Unloading Stafford without a backup plan would not be wise. And second, the Ford family loves them some Matthew Stafford, as they should. Stafford has been amazing for our community and I would be shocked if the Ford family would allow him to be traded.
It’s interesting to read about all of the possibilities, and I will certainly continue to write about them, but I truly believe Stafford will play with the Lions in 2021.
But once his contract is up, all bets are off.
