Entering his 11th season in the NFL, Detroit Lions’ quarterback Matthew Stafford has accomplished little. Does that make him overrated?
When the Detroit Lions drafted Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford with the first overall selection in the 2009 NFL Draft, it was believed the talented signal-caller would lead the struggling franchise to new heights. Eleven years later and the Lions have yet to secure a single playoff victory during Stafford’s tenure.
It’s that extremely lack of postseason success combined with Stafford’s exorbitant salary that has one national sports pundit declaring the 31-year old passer overrated. Perhaps overvalued is a better word.
Stafford signed a five-year, $135 million contract extension in August of 2017. According to OverTheCap.com, his salary cap value of $29.5 million makes him the highest-paid quarterback in NFL this upcoming season.
Yet, as ESPN’s Max Kellerman recently explained on his show First Take, Stafford is overrated because he hasn’t done enough to prove himself to be an elite NFL quarterback despite being paid like one.
"“[Stafford’s] a good quarterback, but he’s overrated … you’re the number one overall pick. What have you done? How many times have you won the division? Zero. Okay, how many times have you won a playoff game? Zero … Have you ever been to a Pro Bowl? One as an alternate. Now, how are you paid? As though you’re maybe the best quarterback in football.”"
You can watch the clip here.
Kellerman’s points are hard to argue. Obviously, front office mismanagement, various coaching staffs, draft misses and much, much more factor into why Stafford hasn’t been more successful in the Motor City.
Unfair or not, elite quarterbacks are expected to eventually lift ailing franchises to new heights. Yet Stafford has struggled to do so in Detroit 10-years into his professional career.
Since Stafford started lining up under center for Motown back in 2009, the Lions have posted just four seasons over .500. Detroit would end up going to the playoffs three times in those scarce years but was unable to win any of those all-important postseason contests.
Two of said playoff berths have come in the past five years, both with head coach Jim Caldwell at the helm. In fact, Caldwell helped to lead the Lions to three-winning seasons during his four-year tenure in Detroit, undoubtedly taking advantage of Stafford’s prime to do so.
Despite that success, the Lions still opted to fire Caldwell after a 9-7 campaign in 2017 and hired former New England Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia to replace him last offseason. Unfortunately, Patricia’s hard-nosed coaching style clashed with the existing culture and the team posted a disappointing 6-10 record in the rookie head coach’s first season in the Motor City.
The obstacles continue to mount for Matthew Stafford as the Detroit Lions opted to bring in a new offensive coordinator, Darrell Bevell, this offseason. And Bevell has publicly stated that he wants to push the 10-year veteran passer to do things that he hasn’t done before. If you are Stafford, that’s likely not a position you envisioned yourself being at this phase of your career: Playing for a defensive-minded head coach and learning a new run-centric offensive scheme under yet another offensive coordinator who claims he wants to change your game a decade in.