Getty Chase Daniel leaves the field in Chicago.
The Detroit Lions needed to prioritize the backup quarterback spot, and have once again turned to an old rival to be able to do so.
The Lions reached an agreement with quarterback Chase Daniel, formally of the Chicago Bears, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The Lions will pay Daniel $13.05 million on a 3 year contract in order to come to Detroit.
Former Bears’ QB Chase Daniel, who beat the Detroit on Thanksgiving Day last season, reached agreement with the Lions today on a three-year, $13.05 million deal that includes a voidable clause, per source.
Adding Daniel seemingly solves Detroit’s need for a backup quarterback heading into 2020. The Lions relied on Jeff Driskel to back up Matthew Stafford, and when Driskel went down, the team had to turn to third stringer David Blough. The results, predictably, weren’t that great for the Lions.
Enter Daniel, who can give the Lions some much needed insurance and security behind Stafford for the next few seasons.
Chase Daniel’s Career Statistics
After playing college football at Missouri, Daniel came into the league as an undrafted free agent in 2009. His first stop was with the Washington Redkins, and from there, he moved onto the Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears. In his career, the 33 year old Daniel has put up 7 touchdowns, 1,430 yards and made a total of 5 career starts. He’s been more known as a backup than anything else.
With the Bears, Daniel has made his biggest impact. He beat the Lions on Thanksgiving Day in 2018 when Mitch Trubisky couldn’t play, and seemingly, that’s just the type of game the Lions could ask him to win in the absence of their quarterback moving forward.
Matthew Stafford’s Injury Healed
The goal this offseason was to get Stafford completely well. As of a few weeks ago, it appears that goal has been achieved according to Kelly Stafford. Buried in a more important Instagram update, Stafford said that her husband’s back, which had been troubling him since the middle of the season, has been healthy since January. That’s according to what he was told by doctors.
Stafford, of course, missed most of the second half of Detroit’s season with the injury, and the Lions effectively shut him down for the rest of the year to their detriment, as they finished a miserable 3-12-1. That patience, though, will pay off if the team gets Stafford back healthy in 2020, which is now the expectation.
While trade rumors have swirled in recent weeks, it doesn’t seem realistic to expect the team to move on from Stafford if they are convinced he is completely healthy. Stafford himself is said to desire staying long-term in Detroit.
Matthew Stafford’s Injury
Listed on the report with a hip and back ailment, Stafford picked up the back injury while playing the Oakland Raiders. The hip trouble had been lingering since the Kansas City game, but Stafford had found a way to play through the pain of that, and actually looked better on the injury report in the weeks after. The back injury limited him in practice most of the week leading up to the Chicago game, casting doubt on whether he’d actually play. Reports in the hours before hinted Stafford could be in trouble, and the decision was quickly made to sit him down on Sunday morning ahead of the game against the Bears.
Late during the 2018 season, Stafford dealt with broken bones in his back as well and played through the pain, and the back injury in consecutive seasons has become a troubling trend for the quarterback. With the Lions depending on Stafford in not just the present but the future, they will have to hope the signal caller doesn’t see another similar injury.
For now, it sounds as if Stafford is a full go for the Lions in 2020. Daniel comes into the mix to back him up just in case any complications arise.
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