Getty Jimmy Johnson at the NFL Honors.
The Detroit Lions revealed the tough decision to move on from Matthew Stafford over the weekend, and according to some, that move will be a long time coming when it happens.
It may have been a hard conclusion to come to for both parties, but at least one member of the media thinks the move will come too late when a trade is agreed upon. After news of the split with Stafford broke, Jimmy Johnson hopped on Twitter to remind the masses that he called for Stafford to be traded last year and for the Lions to draft a quarterback in 2020. Instead, now Johnson thinks the Lions have Jeff Okudah while Justin Herbert turned out better, meaning the Lions should have listened to him.
@ColinCowherd ..your show last year before the draft I said Lions should draft a QB..Justin Herbert turned out better than Okudah..now trade Stafford..should have listened
A grand proclamation about both Okudah and Herbert’s career at this point is probably premature given the players have a long way to go in their careers. Even such, it’s true that Johnson was amongst the first saying last offseason the Lions should be looking to move on from Stafford and start over at the quarterback spot. There was merit to that, but the team clearly wanted to give it one more go with their veteran. Once the 2020 season crashed and burned, it appeared a fresh start was on the mind of everyone.
Regardless of when a move should have happened, reality says it will happen now. That’s true even as Johnson is tempted to say “I told you so” to anyone who will listen.
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Matthew Stafford Rumors Persisted Last Offseason
This offseason, the Lions seem to have cleared up the Stafford decision early on. Last year, it wasn’t that way. Most of the offseason, rumors swirled about Stafford and his future in Detroit. The quarterback was said to be on the trading block multiple times, and though the rumors kept coming up, the team would nearly always tamp them down with confirmation that Stafford wasn’t going anywhere. Detroit had a chance to select Justin Herbert and Tua Tagovailoa, but didn’t add either. Stafford stuck around, and many feel it’s now to the Lions’ detriment that he did considering what happened on the field last year and the miserable 5-11 record the Lions finished with.
Matthew Stafford Era With Lions Comes to Close
Even though Johnson thinks a trade should have happened sooner, it will still be a heartbreaking conclusion for some Lions fans to see Stafford’s career end in Detroit. It will be clear to many others this will be the right move for the team. Stafford has been a loyal player for the team since 2009 when he was the top pick of the Lions. In spite of this, the team never built a solid base around him and the Lions struggled to win with Stafford in tow. Now, there is almost no choice for the team but to firmly push the reset button heading toward a brand new regime.
With the 32 year-old’s introduction to the market, it will be interesting to see who will bite on a deal. The Lions will be interesting players themselves now likely needing a quarterback. All of this is sure to please Johnson, who has maintained that the Lions should be moving on all along.
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