Could Matthew Stafford's tenure with the Detroit Lions be coming to a close? Multiple NFL insiders think so.
According to Mike Sando of ESPN.com, an anonymous league executive feels that Lions head coach Matt Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn—both of whom spent time with the New England Patriots—are going to want a quarterback more like Tom Brady:
“[Head coach Matt] Patricia and [general manager Bob] Quinn both spent a long time in the Patriots' organization, where they watched Tom Brady very closely,” an insider said. “They are going to want somebody who prepares and manages the game more like Tom.”
Another insider says that Patricia may look to save his job by dumping Stafford:
“Patricia is going to say, ‘This is not the guy that is going to get me fired,'” the second insider said.
Still, the chances of the Lions actually trading Stafford seem slim to none. Detroit just signed the signal-caller to a five-year, $135 million extension last September.
“In 2019, he's set to have a cap hit of $29.5 million, but also carries $30 million in dead money, tied to his $50 million signing bonus,” wrote Justin Rogers of The Detroit News. “That means it would cost the Lions more cap space to trade him than to keep him, and that's not even factoring in the cost of a potential replacement.”
Stafford's deal was constructed by the Lions' previous administration, leaving Patricia and Co. between a rock and a hard place.
The 30-year-old has taken a pretty big step back this year, throwing for 3,511 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions while completing 66.3 percent of his passes and registering a passer rating of 88.7, his lowest mark since 2014.
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