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Matthew Stafford, like everyone else, heard the rumors all offseason long. He was supposed to be traded at least a handful of times. But deals never materialized and the Detroit Lions held on to their quarterback.
Speaking with the media for the first time, Stafford commented again that outcome was excellent from his perspective, and cleared up a common misconception regarding the sale of his home. No, he isn’t looking to leave Detroit. Just the opposite, in fact. Stafford is committed to the team and the city more than ever.
Many wondered upon the revealing news that his Michigan house was for sale if this tipped either Stafford or Detroit’s hand moving forward, but it’s clear that his wife’s explanation at the time was spot on. Stafford remains committed to Detroit moving forward and that is great to see.
The biggest hope now? Somehow, the Lions can do enough winning to elevate Stafford with regards to his NFL standing. He deserves it for how committed he remains to the city, their fans and the team.
Matt Patricia Explains Why Lions Love Matthew Stafford
Earlier this offseason, Matt Patricia went on Good Morning Football and was asked about the offseason of rumors that seemed to never stop churning as it related to the quarterback. Patricia simply put the stop to those talks with a solid explanation.
“One of the main reasons I came to the Detroit Lions was Matthew Stafford. I have the utmost respect for him as a player,” Patricia said. “I think he’s a phenomenal teammate. He’s a great football mind. He loves to talk the game. I just get fired up when I get the chance to talk to him and go over strategy. From that standpoint for me, it’s kind of a crazy conversation when that stuff comes up.”
As Patricia said, he gets why some coaches want change at the quarterback spot, but he is just the opposite when it comes to Stafford, choosing to build around him.
“I do understand when coaches maybe go into franchises and they’re trying to re-do everything there, maybe go younger, get a less expensive quarterback, whatever it is to build around pieces they feel they need. In our case here, I’m trying to do the best I can to build around Matthew Stafford,” he said. “Try to help him out, obviously with the offensive line, get a little bit of a run game, play better defense. Try to do everything we can to have a complementary football team with him as our leader. I get really excited to coach him and I’m not changing.”
The Lions stuck with Stafford and it doesn’t look as if they are changing anytime soon given the reasons Patricia outlined.
Bob Quinn Comments About Matthew Stafford Trade Rumors
Stafford’s future was open to interpretation months back with earlier offseason rumors swirling that the team could draft someone else or move on entirely. Quinn, however, joined SiriusXM NFL Radio a few months back and explained why none of that ended up being the case.
“I’m totally comfortable and happy Matthew Stafford’s our quarterback. He’s going to be in full health once the offseason program starts its course. He’s pretty much at full health right now. Talked to him about 10 days ago,” Quinn said in the interview. “He was in the office so he’s feeling great. He’s in a good mindset, he’s excited. Obviously he’s a competitor so to miss half the season was hard on him. But he did a great job with our backup quarterbacks.”
Specifically, Quinn admitted he liked watching Stafford work with the backups and prepare them. That let him know the team is in good hands moving forward.
“Just behind the scenes, seeing him in a different light,” he said. “Since I’ve been there he’s been at every practice and every game. To see him in coach mode was pretty cool to see. He really cares about not only our team and his teammates and his leadership, really helping those other quarterbacks learn our system on the fly when he went down.”
That leads Quinn to feel positively about Stafford moving forward and the impact he might have on the team.
“I feel great about Matthew. He’s going to come back strong and we’re ready to go for next year,” he said.
Stafford himself is fired up to stick around in the Motor City, his team and front office are excited to have him and that should be enough for plenty of good feelings heading into the year.
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