The Lions checked in with Justin Herbert and Tua Tagovailoa before the draft, fueling some speculation about Matthew Stafford‘s future. Meanwhile, the Staffords have put their Detroit-area home up for sale. This week, the quarterback and his wife shot down any talk of a job-related relocation. 
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“I pay less attention to (the trade rumors) than my wife does,” Stafford said Thursday (via Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com). “But it’s something that doesn’t bother me. Listen, I’m here, I want to be here. I love being a Detroit Lion, I love leading this team.”
The Stafford family put their five-bedroom, seven-bathroom home on the market. The lakefront home features an infinity swimming pool and an indoor basketball court partially fashioned with the Pistons’ original hardwood floor at the Pontiac Silverdome. In case you’re interested in this little fixer-upper of a summer shack, the asking price is $6.5MM. And, don’t worry, the Staffords aren’t looking to leave Michigan.
“No speculation is needed. We’re about to have our fourth child and I personally do not want to live on a lake or have a pool with four children [under the age of 4],” Kelly Stafford said on Instagram (h/t Rothstein). “So that is the reason that it is on the market.”
The Lions front office has also repeatedly shot down the possibility of moving on from Stafford. Yes, he’s 32 and, yes, he did miss half of the 2019 season, but he enjoyed a 136-game streak of consecutive starts before the back problems surfaced. And, in his eight starts, he threw for nearly 2,500 yards, 19 touchdowns, and five interceptions while ranking No. 8 in ESPN’s Total QB Rating.
This year, he’s set to be on the Lions’ payroll for $21.3MM. After that, his cap number moves to $33MM in 2021. They may have liked Herbert, Tagovailoa, and some of the other QBs in this year’s draft class, but Stafford is the quarterback who gives them the best chance to win in 2020. For his part, Stafford says the speculation doesn’t bother him very much.
“I really don’t pay too much attention to ’em,” Stafford said of the talk. “I pay less attention to them than my wife does. But it’s something that doesn’t bother me. I’m here. I want to be here. I love being a Detroit Lion. I love leading this team. So all that kind of stuff is just kind of out there to be out there. It’s a slow news month at that point, and I’m just happy to be where I am and ready to deal with this offseason the way it is and try to make the best of the season that I hope happens.”
Ok Brady
Said no one ,ever
I guess he doesn’t want to win a championship.
I think any true football fan would have wanted Barry Sanders and Matt Stafford to at least get a legit chance at playing in a championship game.
Regrettably for fans of Stafford and/or the Lions, the key phrase in this story is “…before the back problems surfaced.” There are not very many instances of athletes playing at an equal level after back problems (and aging, obviously) as what they did before.
if he’s staying in Detroit maybe the Lions should just leave.
Good one!
It’s not like they can trade him b/c his cap figure. And most teams are set at QB or going the rookie/cheap route this year. There’s only 1 team that needs a legit QB this year, but they seem poised to tank – Jacksonville. Washington is TBD b/c new regime, and they haven’t even seen Haskins up close.
Next year? Different story – NE, Chi, Jax, WAS. All could be in the market, but his cap jumps to 33M.
Any move the Lions make, would be one to compete in 2020 though, so you’d be looking at a situation where they’re moving him for someone they think is better. Like if they swapped him for Dak and extended Dak for what he wants to be paid.
If the staff is fired this offseason, Stafford is still going to be the QB barring a trade, his dead cap is 19M. 2022 is a different story, only 6M.
I would like to see Stafford in Dallas instead of Dak
You can. He lives there. Lol