The Lions are shopping Matthew Stafford, but interest in the quarterback isn’t as high as they might have expected.
It looks like the Lions are going to give Matthew Stafford his wish and ship him out of Detroit. They just have to find a willing trade partner.
Already, reports have emerged of 10 teams expressing interest in the veteran quarterback. Only, that doesn’t actually seem like a whole lot.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk wondered if the initial return is far below what Detroit would have hoped.
“Surely, they expected to hear from more than 10 teams — especially since calls always get made when a key veteran player is available as part of the normal due diligence process,” Florio wrote.
Matthew Stafford should draw more attention than the Lions have gotten
Florio proposed 19 franchises who should at least be interested in talking to the Lions, including the Jets, Patriots, Dolphins, Steelers, Browns, Jaguars, Colts, Texans, Broncos, Raiders, Washington, Cowboys, Bears, Vikings, Panthers, Saints, Falcons, 49ers, and Rams.
Most of those teams are unsettled at their quarterback spot. Others have aging QBs who are retiring or could be replaced.
The Texans have drama with Deshaun Watson. The Cowboys have contract issues with Dak Prescott.
That list doesn’t include the Packers, who could certainly look Stafford’s way if Aaron Rodgers wants out of Green Bay, or the Eagles, who have a mess in their QB room.
To think that only 10 of that number have reached out is pretty surprising. Stafford is a franchise-level quarterback who has thrown for 4,000 or more yards eight times in the last 10 seasons. He’s only gone to one Pro Bowl, but it’s not like the Lions surrounded him with a great deal of stability or support.
Stafford would walk into most NFL franchises and immediately settle the QB picture.
The downside for Detroit is how thoroughly they’ve demonstrated that Stafford isn’t a cure-all. They’ll want major trade value for the player, but it might not come as eagerly as they want.