Would the Detroit Lions trade Matthew Stafford for this?

The Detroit Lions are in the midst of a culture change. But would this new coaching staff really be willing to trade away their best player after the season?

It appears that the Detroit Lions season is all but over with five games yet to be played. The Motor City has a record of 4-7, meaning the best they could do would be to win out and reach 9-7, matching last year’s record.

With the Chicago Bears currently sitting at 8-3 having won both of their matchups against the Lions this season, Detroit being able to win their division is practically impossible.

With the season pretty much sunk, and new head coach Matt Patricia still benefiting from job security, the next five games will be used as an evaluation for 2019. The Lions front office and coaching staff will determine which players have bought-in and which players they can win without.

After throwing two key interceptions in another loss to the Bears on Thanksgiving, it’s understandable that questions about Matthew Stafford‘s future in Motown have started to arise.

But the fact is, Detroit currently doesn’t have a better option to turn to. And franchise quarterbacks don’t grow on trees.

But would the new regime in Detroit consider taking a potential top-five selection in the upcoming NFL Draft in exchange for Stafford’s services?

Longtime NFL columnist Peter King presented this possible trade scenario for Stafford in his weekly article Football Morning in America on Monday.

"“I think if I were Jacksonville GM David Caldwell, come March and the new league year, I’d offer Detroit first and fourth-round picks for Matthew Stafford … I think if I were Lions GM Bob Quinn, I’d probably take it.”"

The Jacksonville Jaguars made it all the way to the conference championship last season as they were one win away from the Super Bowl. So far this season, the Jags are an embarrassing 3-8. And the bulk of the blame for their poor performance has been placed on the shoulders of quarterback Blake Bortles. So a move for a veteran quarterback seems very likely for Jacksonville next offseason.

As of now, there are three teams with a 2-9 record. And there are also three teams with a 3-8 record. If the draft started today, the Jaguars would have a top-six pick in the first round. But would that be high enough for the Lions to consider trading away their franchise quarterback?

It’s hard to imagine the Detroit Lions opting to pull the trigger on a trade for Matthew Stafford since he’s arguably been their best quarterback in the past sixty years. But Stafford has yet to bring any playoff success to Motown after a decade. And if there is one move to be made to shake up things in Detroit, it would be trading away their longtime quarterback.

Matt Patricia and company likely do not want to have to groom a rookie quarterback if they feel they have the talent on their roster to win now. But if they don’t believe Stafford is capable of leading the team where they want to go, everything is on the table.