NFL Insider Reveals Chances Lions Trade Matthew Stafford

Matthew Stafford

Getty Matthew Stafford celebrates a play in a game.

The Detroit Lions have seen Matthew Stafford’s name once again enter into the trade market this week, and his place there is not likely to change even in spite of plenty denials.

Interestingly, though, the league’s insiders aren’t exactly buying a move is on the horizon. According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, Stafford isn’t likely to be on the move at all this offseason, and the Lions have plenty of reasons to keep around their star quarterback.

“Matthew Stafford is not getting shopped. He’s going to be the starting quarterback for the Detroit Lions in 2020 and everybody hopes beyond,” Rapoport said on the NFL Network. “There’s a couple reasons for this. First of all, when the Lions hired Darrell Bevell last year, what they got was probably the best performance they had seen from Stafford really in his career. Before the injury, he was on his way to a career year. Bevell and Sean Ryan the quarterbacks coach certainly were exactly what the Lions needed in terms of getting the best out of Stafford.”

As Rapoport went on to say, the Lions have financial reasons not to trade Stafford as well.

“Plus, they have about $30 million dollars in dead money as far as reasons why they are not going to trade him, he said. “Throw all of that into the fact that they would have literally no starting quarterback if they traded him, and this doesn’t make any sense.”

Indeed, the experience and money angle seem to be the biggest tipping points for Stafford staying in Detroit right now. It doesn’t seem as if anything will happen in the end, and the rumors of Stafford being on the block could simply be used as leverage for the Lions come draft time.

When the rubber meets the road, however, it’s probably more wise to bet on a deal not getting done.


Why Lions Might Struggle Trading Matthew Stafford

Stafford, in addition to being a team leader and a key piece, has a massive cap hit and a contract which currently is nearly immovable. After a new round of Stafford rumors began to swirl, former NFL front office man Andrew Brandt hopped on Twitter and said that it’s probably not feasible to think that the Lions will deal Stafford easily.

As he said, if the Lions can’t trade Stafford, it might be their own fault considering his contract. A major dead cap hit would be created with any Stafford move, and the Lions would have to eat the money in order to move on from Stafford.

This is probably the best argument against a Stafford trade, in addition to the fact that it simply doesn’t seem as if the Lions will move on in such a vital year from such a key player.


Matthew Stafford Trade Rumors Swirling

According to Local 4 WDIV Detroit, the Lions were said to be in negotiations for a Stafford deal with teams for a few weeks. The report was revealed late at night, and was shared on the station’s website. Here’s the key details it presented:

“Sources close to the Detroit Lions have confirmed to Local 4′s Bernie Smilovitz that trade talks concerning quarterback Matthew Stafford have been underway for a couple of weeks.

Stafford’s wife Kelly posted on her Instagram account saying if her husband were to be traded, one destination she would be interested in is California.”

In spite of that, however, it didn’t take Lions’ general manager Bob Quinn long to refute the report. In a text to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, Quinn shot down any potential Stafford rumors as completely false. Here’s what Birkett wrote after connecting with him:

“Detroit Lions general manager Bob Quinn refuted a late-night report that the team is in talks to trade quarterback Matthew Stafford.

“100% False!!” Quinn wrote in a text message to the Free Press.”

Stafford rumors continue to swirl around the team and the reasoning is obvious. The Lions have a powerful chip in the form of Tua Tagovailoa hanging around near the top of the NFL Draft. It’s likely the team is trying to bluff someone into either trading ahead of their pick, or trying to make sure that folks know they could be open for business at quarterback with the No. 3 pick this April.

Both outcomes could assure the Lions a better chance at drafting players they’re interested in or acquiring picks. Stafford himself might be collateral damage for the time being, but it’s tough to envision the Lions completely moving on from their quarterback in such a vital season.

For now, that continues to be the case.

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