Detroit Lions: Russell Wilson’s contract puts things into perspective

What it boils down to is Matthew Stafford not being elite, despite the fact that he is paid as such.

On Friday, NFL Network’s Peter Schrager was on The Dan Patrick Show, and he had the following to say (04-12-19, “Hour 3”):

"“Of all these teams in recent years that gave quarterbacks these monster [deals]… [Aaron] Rodgers, the Packers lose. They don’t make the playoffs. They have very little talent outside of him. You look at guys like [Matthew] Stafford and [Matt] Ryan. Once they get those major deals, it’s really hard.”"

The problem is as clear as day. Paying this kind of money makes winning even harder. But that problem is much worse when the player in question can’t carry the team.

Schrager mentions quarterback Aaron Rodgers, but the fact is he is an elite player. The same goes for Russell Wilson. And both have Super Bowl titles on their resumes.

Rodgers and Wilson may not get another ring because of their bloated salaries. But they have consistently carried their teams to division titles and playoff victories, which means another championship is certainly possible.

But for the bottom three guys (Cousins, Garoppolo, Stafford), they haven’t accomplished much of anything. They haven’t carried their teams to postseason victories, yet they are paid elite money.