Since GM Martin Mayhew and president Tom Lewand were fired last week by the Lions, the latest rumors and speculation in Detroit have centered on quarterback Matthew Stafford, whose future with the club beyond the 2015 season is somewhat uncertain. Still, speaking to FOX2 in Detroit on Monday, Stafford said he wasn’t caught up in thoughts about his long-term outlook, as Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com details.
“I don’t think it helps, you know, for me to sit there and think about it,” Stafford said. “I’m doing a disservice to the other guys in the locker room preparing to win games on Sundays to sit there and worry about what the future holds. I’m trying to play as good of football as I possibly can and help the Lions win. … I love playing here. I’ve enjoyed it. We’ll see what happens. Hopefully I’m here for a long time.”
Here’s more on the Lions:
- Despite those Stafford rumors, some people around the league think the idea that the team would move him in the offseason is “crazy talk,” writes Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. As Florio notes, Stafford may not be a top-10 quarterback, but he’s not a bottom-10 option either, so the Lions are unlikely to let him go unless they have a viable plan in place for his replacement.
- Gil Brandt of NFL.com (Twitter link) reported over the weekend that the Lions have hired a search firm to help the franchise identify and hire a new president and general manager. Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press spoke to Ernie Accorsi and Ron Wolf, who have served as consultants for teams’ GM searches in recent years, about what that process entails.
- In an ESPN.com piece, Rothstein lays out a few characteristics the team will be looking for in its next general manager.
- Lions owner Martha Ford addressed the players on Monday, introducing the replacements for Mayhew and Lewand, and telling the team “in no uncertain terms that she expects the Lions to start playing better football,” Birkett writes for the Free Press.