All Lions: Matthew Stafford Not a 'Lock' for Hall of Fame

Matthew Stafford is not considered a 'lock' to be a Hall of Famer in a recent CBS Sports listing.

Author:
John Maakaron
Updated:
Jul 17, 2020 8:28 PM EDT
Original:
Jul 17, 2020

In this story:

Matthew Stafford is poised to continue garnering many significant passing accolades before he finally decides to hang up his cleats.

Will his body of work result in an invitation one day to the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

According to CBS Sports, the next five seasons will be paramount in determining if Detroit's franchise passer will be enshrined in Canton, Ohio.

In their recent listing of every NFL team's most likely Hall of Famer, Stafford gets the nod for the Lions.

But, Stafford was not named among the 13 "locks" to be enshrined.

As Bryan DeArdo explains,

"The 32-year-old Stafford is already 18th all-time in career passing yards and 19th in passing touchdowns. He also owns two of the 15 most prolific passing seasons in NFL history. Stafford is one of just eight quarterbacks in NFL history to throw for over 5,000 yards in a season. Stafford has also led the Lions to the playoffs three times, not a small accomplishment when you consider the division Detroit plays in as well as the overall lack of consistent success the franchise has had since Barry Sanders hung up his cleats for good at the end of the 1998 season. Along with having more team success (he's 0-3 in playoff games), how well Stafford rebounds from last season's back injury may determine whether or not his career is bound for Canton."

Let's take a look now at some other Lions news from around the web on Friday, July 17:

Kyle Yost at Pride of Detroit wonders what nickname would be chosen if Detroit decided to change its name.
Jeff Risdon of USA Today's Lions Wire reports on how linebacker Jamie Collins last season was the NFL's best cover linebacker since 2011.
Jeff Okudah does not appear to be impressed with his 2021 Madden rating.