Is Matthew Stafford Final Piece to Detroit Lions Super Bowl Puzzle?

For many supporters of the Detroit Lions, it is a shame that quarterback Matthew Stafford made the decision after the 2020 season to march into a meeting with ownership to demand a trade.

A local Detroit Free Press columnist suggested that the former No. 1 pick could be the final piece the Lions needs to get over the hump and win a Super Bowl.

According to Monarrez, "I’ve never liked that the Lions tied their fortunes to a unit that requires elite performance from five players. Unfortunately, Goff requires that kind of elite protection. But Stafford doesn’t. In five seasons in L.A., he hasn’t had one offensive lineman make the Pro Bowl, yet he’s won a Super Bowl, has a 7-3 playoff record and a (likely) MVP season."

Detroit missed the playoffs this year, despite finishing with a winning record.

Monarrez expressed that watching the former Georgia Bulldogs quarterback this season made him think he could have led Detroit to more success this season than Jared Goff.

"The more I watched Stafford this year – in person during the Lions' loss to the Rams in December and throughout the playoffs on TV – the more I was convinced the Lions would have easily made the playoffs with him this season," Monarrez wrote. "He constantly bought himself more time by scrambling and also made great throws outside the pocket."

Goff does possess a no-trade clause, and a trade is highly unlikely, given how it would put Detroit in salary-cap peril.

Not too many teams are interested in incurring a dead cap fee of nearly $99 million. Detroit needs to restructure Goff's contract in order to bring down his 2026 cap number of $69 million.

While it is intriguing to debate if Stafford could lead Detroit to a Super Bowl, a trade is not going to happen.

Sean McVay was asked about Stafford's future, following a disappointing NFC championship game loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

“If he still wants to play,” McVay said. “What the hell kind of a question is that? Yeah. You have to ask him. We've been totally present.”

Stafford has one year remaining on his contract. Many believe the veteran signal-caller is in search of another bump in pay, after putting together another stellar season.

The 37-year-old is set to earn $40 million this upcoming season, which puts him outside of the top 10 for compensation paid to a starting quarterback (11th).

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