Matthew Stafford on Future: 'I Got Two Years Left on My Deal Here'
Now that the 2020 season is officially over for the Detroit Lions, one of the biggest questions of the offseason will begin to get sorted out.
Matthew Stafford has been the franchise passer in Detroit since the 2009 season.
But, yet again, the Lions will find themselves on the outside-looking in when the playoffs begin next week.
For Stafford, the time has come for him to make the biggest decision of his career.
Should he stay in Detroit, or demand to be traded?
Following the game, ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky, a former Lions quarterback, tweeted that Stafford and the Lions should part ways.
When asked following Detroit's 37-35 defeat at the hands of the Vikings, Stafford expressed that even his close friends are entitled to their opinion regarding his future.
"It honestly doesn't matter if I know him or if I don't. I really don't pay too much attention to it," Stafford said. "I just go about my business, and go about my day-to-day, try to help this team win. All those kind of things in my mind will figure themselves out, and we'll go from there. Everybody has the right to their opinion. I know Dan well. He's a good friend of mine. But, to me, you don't don't pay too much attention to it."
Following a disappointing 5-11 season, Detroit's front office will be reshaped, and a new general manager may eventually make Stafford's decision for him.
In the meantime, Stafford plans to take some time to decide what his future with the team that drafted him No. 1 overall in 2009 will entail.
"I got two years left on my deal here, so there's a lot to discuss," he said. "So, obviously, I will keep that between my family and I and all that. But, we'll figure it out at some other date."
Another season of missing the NFL playoffs is difficult
Stafford and the Lions have only made the postseason on three occasions during his tenure.
After 12 NFL seasons, it still is difficult for Stafford to walk away from the final game, knowing that the team will not be participating in the postseason.
"It's hard every time. Difficult, disappointing. All those words come to mind. I want to win. I want to be in those games more than anything. It starts with me. I can play better, help us get there. That's the way I look at it. I want to win just as bad as anybody, if not more so. But, the thing that I can control is how I play. I could have played better to help us win some more games and some other spots this year and maybe give us a chance," Stafford said. "My focus is on what I can control and what I can manage. And that's just doing everything I can to make myself a better player."
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